Answer:
[tex]4.47\ \text{km/h}[/tex]
Explanation:
[tex]\dfrac{da}{dt}[/tex] = Rate at which the distance between A and starting point of B is changing = -20 km/h
[tex]\dfrac{db}{dt}[/tex] = Rate at which the distance of B is changing = 15 km/h
[tex]\dfrac{dc}{dt}[/tex] = Rate at which the distance between A and B is changing
Time after which the rate at which the distance between A and B is changing is 4 hours
Distance covered by A in 4 hours = [tex]20\times 4=80\ \text{km}[/tex]
a = Distance remaining to the start point of B = [tex]110-80=30\ \text{km}[/tex]
b = Distance covered by B in 4 hours = [tex]15\times 4=60\ \text{km}[/tex]
Distance between A and B after 4 hours
[tex]c=\sqrt{a^2+b^2}\\\Rightarrow c=\sqrt{30^2+60^2}\\\Rightarrow c=67.08\ \text{km}[/tex]
[tex]c^2=a^2+b^2[/tex]
Differentiating with respect to time we get
[tex]c\dfrac{dc}{dt}=a\dfrac{da}{dt}+b\dfrac{db}{dt}\\\Rightarrow \dfrac{dc}{dt}=\dfrac{a\dfrac{da}{dt}+b\dfrac{db}{dt}}{c}\\\Rightarrow \dfrac{dc}{dt}=\dfrac{30\times -20+60\times 15}{67.08}\\\Rightarrow \dfrac{dc}{dt}=4.47\ \text{km/h}[/tex]
The rate at which the distance between the ships is changing at 4 PM is [tex]4.47\ \text{km/h}[/tex].