A thief is spotted by a policeman from a distance of 200 meters. The policeman starts chasing at a speed of 10 km/h while the thief is running at a speed of 8 km/h. After how much time (in minutes) will the thief be caught?

6

The thief is at a distance of 200 m,

Speed of Policeman, P = 10 km/hr = (10×100/6) = (1000/6) m/min

Speed of thief, T = 8 km/hr = (8×100/6) = (800/6) m/min

Lets consider an initial point O 

After 3 mins, P is at 3000/6 m from O and T is at (200+2400/6= 3600/6)

After 5 mins, P is at 5000/6 m from O and T is at (200+4000/6= 5200/6)

After 6 mins, P is at 6000/6 m from O and T is at (200+4800/6= 6000/6)

Thus at 6 mins they are at same position from "O"

Alternatively,

It is clear from the speed values that in every 6 minutes,

the policeman covers 1000 m

the thief covers 800 m

thus adding the initial 200 m

they will be at 1000 m from policeman's position after 6 minutes being at the same position.

The correct answer is Option (3) → 6 minutes