I was given this solution.But i have two questions.. 1.Do the units not matter while we calculate related rates? If it does, is the answer provided correct? 2.How did he/she end up with the 5mi there? Thanks alot for your time..

• I would always recommend converting all the units to SI units, especially in this case where there are mixed units. – Matti P. Feb 13 '18 at 10:03

Let's denote the car's distance (towards south) from the intersection by $s(t)$ and the truck's distance (towards east) by $r(t)$. Their distance from each other is $$u^2(t) = s^2(t) + r^2(t)$$ Differentiating both sides, we get $$2u u^{'} = 2s s^{'} + 2 r r^{'}$$ where the prime denotes differentiation. Now, the rate of change of the distance between the two cars can be solved easily: $$u^{'} = \frac{s s^{'} + r r^{'}}{u}$$ Now we just have to plug in the values, remembering that the car is heading north, so that $s^{'}<0$: $$u^{'} = \frac{\left(6437~\text{m}\right)\left(-16.67~\frac{\text{m}}{\text{s}}\right) + \left( 4828~\text{}\right) \left( 13.89~\frac{\text{m}}{\text{s}}\right)}{8047~\text{m}} \approx -5~\frac{\text{m}}{\text{s}}$$
• Pythagoras: $\sqrt{3^2 + 4^2} = 5$. – Matti P. Feb 14 '18 at 6:36