The passenger ships and cargo ships set out from Wuhan and Shanghai at the same time. The cargo ships travel 40 kilometers per hour. The speed of the passenger ships is 1.2 times that of the cargo ships. The distance between the two places is 862.4 kilometers. How many hours can the two ships meet?

The passenger ships and cargo ships set out from Wuhan and Shanghai at the same time. The cargo ships travel 40 kilometers per hour. The speed of the passenger ships is 1.2 times that of the cargo ships. The distance between the two places is 862.4 kilometers. How many hours can the two ships meet?

Encounter time = total distance divided by speed and
862.4 / (40 + 40 * 1.2) = 9.8 hours