Distance gap divided by speed gap
Run two racers on the same track and watch the distance gap shrink by the speed difference. The chase ends when the faster runner has eaten the whole starting gap.
A pursuit problem has two moving objects going the same direction. This game keeps both racers moving while a gap meter shrinks, so students can see why the relevant rate is the speed difference, not either speed alone.
Aligned with CCSS 6.RP.A.2 and 6.RP.A.3 for unit rate and rate reasoning.
Relative speed
Two racers move in the same direction. The only thing that closes the gap is the speed difference.
Olympiad thinking model
Catch-Up Track is built for students who need a visual way to decode multi-step puzzle structure. It gives the page a clear search purpose: learn the model, manipulate it, then continue into the matching grade-level practice.
Catch-Up Track helps when a student can copy a procedure but cannot explain why it works. The demo slows the idea down into a visible model before sending the learner to guided missions.
Learning goals
How to play
Continue with guided practice
Because both objects move in the same direction. The slower object also moves forward, so only fast speed minus slow speed closes the gap.
Catch time = starting distance gap / (fast speed - slow speed). The game shows that as the shrinking gap meter.
Students drop a marker before running the race, then compare it to the real catch point. The error is spatial, not just numeric.
Grades 5-6, especially Grade 6 ratio and unit-rate reasoning.
