Five brick-layers working together can build a wall in 20 days.
Suppose every brick-layer works at the same rate. Three
brick-layers work on the wall for 10 days before eleven more
brick-layers join them. How much longer will it take them to
finish the wall?
Suppose every brick-layer works at the same rate.
Let the rate of 1 brick-layer be R in walls per day.
Then
(rate)(time) = (fraction of wall completed)
Five brick-layers working together can build a wall in 20 days.
The rate of 1 brick-layer is R so the rate of 5
brick-layers is 5R
(rate)(time) = (fraction of wall completed),so
(5R)(20) = 1
100R = 1
R = 1/100 of a wall per day.
Three brick-layers work on the wall for 10 days...
The rate of 1 brick-layer is 1/100 so the rate of 3
brick-layers is 3/100
(rate)(time) = (fraction of wall completed)
(3/100)(10) = 3/10 of the wall completed
So there's still 7/10 of the wall left to go.
...before eleven more brick-layers join them.
That makes 14 brick-layers
The rate of 1 brick-layer is 1/100 so the rate of 14
brick-layers is 14/100
How much longer will it take them to finish the wall?
Let the answer be x days for the 14 to finish the remaining
7/10 of the wall.
(rate)(time) = (fraction of wall completed)
(14/100)(x) = 7/10
Multiply both sides by 100
14x = 70
x = 5 more days.
Edwin