SOLUTION: Winston works faster. Winston can mow his dad�s lawn in 1 hour less than it takes his brother Willie. If they take 2 hours to mow it when working together, then how long would it t

Question 47626: Winston works faster. Winston can mow his dad�s lawn in 1 hour less than it takes his brother Willie. If they take 2 hours to mow it when working together, then how long would it take Winston working alone?
Answer by stanbon(75887) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Winston works faster. Winston can mow his dad�s lawn in 1 hour less than it takes his brother Willie. If they take 2 hours to mow it when working together, then how long would it take Winston working alone?
Willie DATA:
Time to do the job= x hrs./job ; Rate =1/x job/hr.
Winston DATA:
Time to do the job= x-1 hr/job ; Rate = 1/(x-1) job/hr.
Together DATA:
Time to do the job= 2 hr/job ; Rate = 1/2 job/hr.
EQUATION:
Willie Rate + Winston Rate = Together Rate
1/x + 1/(x-1) = 1/2
[x-1+x]/[x(x-1)] = 1/2
2(2x-1)=x^2-x
4x-2=x^2-x
x^2-5x+2=0
x=[5+sqrt(25-4(2)]/2 or x=[5-sqrt(17)]/2
x=4.56 hr. or x= 0.438 hr.
x-1 = 3.56 hr (Time Winston would take working alone.)
--------------------------
Cheers,
Stan H.

RELATED QUESTIONS
Winston works faster. Winston can mow his dad�s lawn in 1 hour less than it takes his... (answered by fractalier,Socom491)

49x^2+9=42x x^-2-9x^1+18=0 Winston works faster. Winston can mow his dad's lawn in... (answered by stanbon)

Help please ! Winston can mow his dads lawn in 1 hour less than it takes his brother... (answered by edjones)

Winston can mow his dad's lawn in 1 hour less than it takes his brother Willie. If they... (answered by stanbon)

114. Surface area of a cube. The formula A =6V^2/3 gives the surface area of a cube in... (answered by Alan3354,ankor@dixie-net.com)

114. Surface area of a cube. The formula A =6V^2/3 gives the surface area of a cube in... (answered by edjones)

114. Surface area of a cube. The formula A =6V^2/3 gives the surface area of a cube in (answered by solver91311)

1. It takes Frank 2 hours to mow his lawn, but it only takes his dad 5 minutes to mow... (answered by nerdybill)

Gardener A can mow an entire lawn in 1 hour less than gardener B .If they work together... (answered by psbhowmick)