researcher wrote:
the way the question was STATED in the beginning, the plane will not fly. Now if for some precarious reason the plane has a way to stay on the treadmill with its free spinning wheels, then yes if you ADD the jets to it, it will take off....the only thing the question says is that the plane is moving at the same speed as the treadmill...with the free spinning wheels, it ain't goin nowhere...
Wrong. The riddle was worded correctly. It's real simple if you imagine it another way. You have a treadmill in front of you. In your hand you have a model car, which you hold at arms length at one end of the treadmill. Now, make some "vrrrooom, vroooom" noises and move your arm so that the car moves towards the other end of the treadmill. What speed the treadmill moves opposite of the direction of the movement of the car is irrelevant: if the treadmill moves at half the speed, three quarters the speed, the same speed or faster than the speed that you move the model car, the result is EXACTLY the same. The car moves down the treadmill because it is being propelled by your arm -- NOT THE WHEELS.
The play will fly, of course.
VRRRROOOOOOM- VROOOOOOM!