SOLUTION: A homeowner uses two pumps to pump out the water from a flooded basement. Together they take 160 minutes to complete the job. The larger pump works twice as fast as the smaller pum

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Question 594998: A homeowner uses two pumps to pump out the water from a flooded basement. Together they take 160 minutes to complete the job. The larger pump works twice as fast as the smaller pump. How long would it take the smaller pump to complete the job alone?
Answer by ankor@dixie-net.com(22740) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
A homeowner uses two pumps to pump out the water from a flooded basement.
Together they take 160 minutes to complete the job. The larger pump works twice as fast as the smaller pump.
How long would it take the smaller pump to complete the job alone?
:
let t = time required by the large pump alone
then
2t = the small pump alone
:
let the completed job = 1, (an empty basement)
:
A typical shared work equation
:
+ = 1
multiply by 2t to clear the denominators, results
160 + 2(160) = 2t
160 + 320 = 2t
480 = 2t, time required by the smaller pump
:
:
Check this
+ =
+ = 1