SOLUTION: A new letter sorting machine works twice as fast as the old one. Both sorters working together complete a job in eight hours. How long would it have taken the new letter sorter to

Question 765495: A new letter sorting machine works twice as fast as the old one. Both sorters working together complete a job in eight hours. How long would it have taken the new letter sorter to do the job alone?
Answer by stanbon(75887) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
A new letter sorting machine works twice as fast as the old one. Both sorters working together complete a job in eight hours. How long would it have taken the new letter sorter to do the job alone?
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slower machine rate: 1/(2x) job/hr
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faster machine rate: 1/x job/hr
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together rate = 1/8 job/hr
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Equation:
rate + rate = together rate
1/(2x) + 1/x = 1/8
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4 + 8 = x
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x = 12 hrs (time for the faster machine to do the job alone)
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2x = 24 hrs (time for the slower machine to do the job alone)
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Cheers,
Stan H.
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