The correct answer is option 3: 20 s.

To understand why this is the correct answer, we need to analyze the motion of both the car and the bus.

The car is starting from rest and accelerating with an acceleration of 1.2 m/s^2. This means its velocity is increasing at a rate of 1.2 m/s every second.

The bus, on the other hand, is moving with a constant speed of 12 m/s.

In order for the car to meet the bus, it needs to catch up to the bus and match its speed.

Since the car is starting from rest, it will take some time to accelerate to a speed equal to that of the bus.

To find out how long it takes for the car to catch up to the bus, we need to calculate the time it takes for the car to reach a speed of 12 m/s.

Using the equation v = u + at, where v is the final velocity, u is the initial velocity, a is the acceleration, and t is the time, we can rearrange the equation to solve for time.

In this case, the final velocity (v) is 12 m/s, the initial velocity (u) is