- The stationmaster claims that she noted that the freight train was behind schedule. As regulations require, she switched on a warning light just as the last car of the freight train passed her.
- The freight train engineer says he was going at a constant speed of 10 miles per hour.
- The passenger train engineer says she was going at the speed limit of 40 miles per hour when she approached the warning light. Just as she reached the warning light she saw it go on and immediately hit the brakes.
- The warning light is located so that a train gets to it 2.0 miles before it gets to the station.
- The passenger train slows down at a constant rate of 1.0 mile per hour for each minute as soon as you hit the brakes.
DO ONLY THE PROBLEM SOLVING STEPS NECESSARY TO FOCUS THE PROBLEM AND DESCRIBE THE PHYSICS OF THE PROBLEM. DO NOT SOLVE THIS PROBLEM.