Tom and John left their residences and moved towards each other at 9:00 a.m. they met at 11:40 a.m. their speeds were 40km/hr and 35/h respectively. What was the distance between them?

Let the distance between their residences be x km.

Tom's speed = 40 km/hr
John's speed = 35 km/hr

Time taken to meet = 11:40 am - 9:00 am = 2 hours 40 minutes = 2.67 hours

Distance = Speed x Time
Distance = (40 + 35) x 2.67
Distance = 75 x 2.67
Distance = 200.25 km

Therefore, the distance between their residences was 200.25 km.

Step 1: Convert speeds to km/min

Tom's speed: 40 km/hr ÷ 60 min/hr = 2/3 km/min
John's speed: 35 km/hr ÷ 60 min/hr = 7/12 km/min

Step 2: Calculate the combined speed

Combined speed = Tom's speed + John's speed
Combined speed = 2/3 km/min + 7/12 km/min
Combined speed = 13/12 km/min

Step 3: Calculate the time of travel

Time of travel = End time - Start time
Time of travel = 11:40 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Time of travel = 2 hours 40 minutes

Step 4: Convert time of travel to minutes

Time of travel = 2 hours × 60 minutes/hour + 40 minutes
Time of travel = 160 minutes

Step 5: Calculate the distance

Distance = Combined speed × Time of travel
Distance = (13/12 km/min) × (160 minutes)
Distance = 160 km

Therefore, the distance between Tom and John when they left their residences was 160 km.