Questions on Word Problems: Rate of work, PAINTING, Pool Filling answered by real tutors!

Tutors Answer Your Questions about Rate-of-work-word-problems (FREE)

Question 132051: Brett usually takes 50 minutes to groom the horses. After working 10 minutes, he was joined by Angela and they finished the grooming in 15 minutes. How long would it have taken Angela working alone? Please explain the steps and the equation used. Thanks.
Click here to see answer by josmiceli(9817)

Question 131951: Two rainstorms occurred in one week in a certain area. The first storm lasted 25 hours, and the second storm lasted 40 hours, for a total 1600mL of rain. What was the rate of rainfall for each of the two storms if the sum of the two rates was 55 mL per hour?
Click here to see answer by ptaylor(2052)

Question 132149: Reena and Ria working together can complete a job in 1 1/2 hours. If Reena works alone for 1 hour and is then joined by Ria, the two together can finish the remaining job in 3/4 hour. How long will it take each person working alone to complete the job?
Click here to see answer by josmiceli(9817)

Question 133383: Please help me with this problem. How do you solve ratio's and proportions's problems when there are 3 variables?
If it takes 16 faucets 10 hours to fill 8 tubs, how long will it take 12 faucets to fill 9 tubes?

Click here to see answer by stanbon(57967)

Question 133405: Pipe A can fill a tank in 4 hr, Pipe B in 10 hrs and pipe C in 12 hrs. The pipes are connected to the same tank. How long does it take to fill the tank if all 3 are running together?
Click here to see answer by scott8148(6628)

Question 133568: Arthur can do a job in 30 minutes, Bonnie can do it in 40 minutes, and Claire can do it in 60 minutes. How long will it take them if they work together?
Click here to see answer by ptaylor(2052)

Question 133570: One pump can fill a water tank in 3h (hours), and another pump takes 5h. When the tank was empty, both pumps were turned on for 30 minutes and then the faster pump was turned off. How much longer did the slower pump have to run before the tank was filled?
Click here to see answer by ptaylor(2052)

Question 133988: Stan can load his truck in 24 min. If his brother helps him, it takes them 15 min to load the truck. How long does it take Stan's brother alone?
Please show work. How would I set this up in a chart? Thanks!
Click here to see answer by checkley71(8403)

Question 134391: Four employees were asked to stack 320 boxes of materials. After stacking 120 boxes in 1 hour, the were joined by another worker who helped stack the remaining boxes. How long will it take the new group to finish stacking the remaining 200 boxes, if they continue to work at their same rate?

PLEASE NOTE: I know the solution to this problem. However, I've been following the techniques used so far for "work/rate" problems that many of the tutors here fully lay out and explain, and I've done well using these techniques, but I cannot seem to apply any here, and instead I have to solve the problem the old fashion way, which calls for more logical thinking than simply formulating a quick equation. My question is, is there a simple EQUATION for this problem? (ex: 1/4 + 1/x = 1/2 ~ john and tom working together, where john's time is 4 hours and tom's is unknown.) Thank you in advance.
Click here to see answer by ankor@dixie-net.com(15746)

Question 134441: I tried on this problem already (not from a textbook) and I'm not sure if I'm getting it, I've got answers ranging from 18 mins to 8.89 minutes. Here's the problem:
Jack can wash a car in 16 minutes; Jill can wash the same car in 20 minutes. How long will it take both of them working together to wash the car?
This is what I've done: (16 + 20) / 2 = 18 mins
I've also tried using the example of the solution to problem 133568 and I got 8.89 mins.
I'm not sure which is correct and I'd really appreciate the help. Thank you.
Click here to see answer by checkley71(8403)

Question 134470: Wanda has read 80 of the 118 pages in a book. It took her 2 hours, 40 min. It is now 8:30 pm. When will she finish?
Click here to see answer by nycsharkman(136)

Question 134470: Wanda has read 80 of the 118 pages in a book. It took her 2 hours, 40 min. It is now 8:30 pm. When will she finish?
Click here to see answer by ankor@dixie-net.com(15746)

Question 134989: Please help me with this problem. How can you relate three variables with 2 different situations?
If it takes 12 eggs to make 2 cakes and 1 dozen cookies, and 19 eggs to make 3 cakes and 2 dozen cookies, how many eggs does it take to make one cake?
Click here to see answer by stanbon(57967)

Question 135063: Noah and Ben are running in the Walker Street Fun Run. Noah runs at 7mph, Ben at 5mph. If they start at the same time, how long will it be before they are 1/3 mile apart?
Click here to see answer by checkley77(12569)

Question 135137: Robert can do a piece of work in "x" days. Mary can do the same work in (x+16) days. when both of them work together they can do work in 15 days. What is the value of "x"?
Click here to see answer by ankor@dixie-net.com(15746)

Question 135199: If Steven can mix 20 drinks in 5 minutes, Sue can mix 20 drinks in 10 minutes, and Jack can mix 20 drinks in 15 minutes, how much time will it take all 3 of them working together to mix the 20 drinks?

Click here to see answer by ptaylor(2052)

Question 135287: If one riveter can do a job in 12 days, and a second riveter can do it in 16 days, how long would it take them to do it together?
Click here to see answer by solver91311(17077)

Question 135287: If one riveter can do a job in 12 days, and a second riveter can do it in 16 days, how long would it take them to do it together?
Click here to see answer by ptaylor(2052)

Question 135445: annie and marie hiked up an 18-mile mountain trail at 5 mph. They immediately hiked down at 4 mph. How long did the hike take?
*Please help me with this math question!!
Click here to see answer by smarty1994(10)

Question 135797: An experienced accountant can balance the books twice as fast as a new accountant. Working together it takes the accountants 10 hours. How long would it take the experienced accountant working alone?
Click here to see answer by ptaylor(2052)

Question 135923: A & B working together can do a job for 10 days.If each works alone A takes 5 days longer than B to do the job.How long will it take each one of them to do the job.
Click here to see answer by ptaylor(2052)

Question 136148: Andrei Toom's word problem from his article http://www.inform.umd.edu/CMLT/cmltgrad/JSchaub/ta_main/toom.html
Suppose that it takes Tom and Dick 2 hours to do a certain job, it takes Tom
and Harry 3 hours to do the same job and it takes Dick and Harry 4 hours to do the same job.
How long would it take Tom, Dick and Harry to do the same job if all 3 men worked together?

is a clear rate of work problem with 3 workers.
http://www.math.umd.edu/~jnd/Algebraic_word_problems.pdf and is set up here.
I can set it up, but I can't solve it. I'd love to see it solved.
Can someone please finish it:

Click here to see answer by scott8148(6628)

Question 136226: I have no idea how to solve this problem because all of the examples I found tell me the volume. Since this doesn't I am completely stuck. How do you solve it without knowing the volume?
Tara plans to take a bath but forgets to close the drain. The bath usually takes 10 minutes to fill and 12 minutes to empty. How long will it be before the bath is filled if Tara continues not to notice that the drain is open?
Please help!
Click here to see answer by stanbon(57967)

Question 136229: I having trouble with this question because it is not following the regular D=r x t rule because of gravity. I can't find any thing else that helps me. Please let me know if I solved this correctly.
In a cartoon, a malfunctioning cannon fires a coyote towards the bottom of a cliff with an initial rate of 100 feet per second. If the cliff is 1250 feet tall, how long will it take the coyote to reach the desert floor? (To account for gravity, use the formula d=rt+16t squared)
1250=100t + 16t squared
t=6.25 seconds
Click here to see answer by stanbon(57967)

Question 136223: Bogard,by himself, can paint four rooms in ten hours. If bogard hires April to assist, then they can do the same job together in six hours. If Bogard lets April work alone, how long will it take her to paint the four rooms? (Has to be answered in Algebra form please?)
Click here to see answer by stanbon(57967)

Question 136426: If A can do a job in 5 hrs. and B can do a job in 8 hrs. Together they can do a job in_ hrs.
Click here to see answer by ptaylor(2052)

Question 136426: If A can do a job in 5 hrs. and B can do a job in 8 hrs. Together they can do a job in_ hrs.
Click here to see answer by jeff@yahoo.com(1)

Question 136542: F.Recovering golf balls. Susan and Joan are diving for golf balls in a large water trap. Susan recovers a golf ball every 0.016 hour while Joan recovers a ball every 0.025 hour. If both are working, then at what rate (in golf balls per hour) are they recovering golf balls?
Click here to see answer by stanbon(57967)

Question 136547: hi i need help with this problem.
Together, Lateesha and John cna write a particular type of computer program in 15 hours. Alone, Lateesha can do the job 3 hours faster than John. Find the time that each person takes to write the computer program.
thank you very much for your time.
Click here to see answer by ptaylor(2052)

Question 136969: can you solve?
It takes one man 10 hours to do a certain job. After he has been at work for 4 hours, another man is sent to help. The two men complete the job in 2 more hours. How long would it have taken the second man to do the job alone?
I am more interested in the work then the answer so please show me step by step
thanks for the help
Click here to see answer by scott8148(6628)

Question 136978: Hi, I was hoping I could get some help...
Sara takes 3 hours longer to paint a floor than it takes Katie. When they work together, it takes them 2 hours.How long would each take to do the job alone?
So far I have
Sara=X+3
Kate=X
(2/X+3 + 2/X = 1) all that multiplied by X(X+3)
But I don't know what to do next, or even if that is right
Thank you for the help
Click here to see answer by checkley77(12569)

Question 137122: The number of bacteria in a large sealed jar doubles every minute. An hour after the first bacteria was put into the jar and sealed in, the jar was full. When was it half full?
Click here to see answer by ankor@dixie-net.com(15746)

Question 137212: Arlene and AJ are chemists. AJ can do an emulsion polymerization in 10 hours. If AJ and Arlene work together they can do the experiment in 13 hours. How long will it take Arlene working by herself to do the experiment.
AJ= 10
Arlene= x+10
I think the answer is 3 but that's too obvious.
Click here to see answer by checkley77(12569)

Question 137216: When he works alone, it takes a man 6 hours to hang wallpaper in his dining room. After working alone for three hours, the man's son returns from school to help his father finish hanging the wallpaper. If the two working together take an additional 2 hours to complete the job, determine how long it would take the son working alone to hang the paper in the entire room
Click here to see answer by ankor@dixie-net.com(15746)

Question 137774: Okay, I have another one using distance = rate times time but it has a twist. I am totally stuck! Please help!
A penguin swimming with the ocean current in search of food takes 1 hour to travel 9 miles. Its return trip upstream to its starting point takes it 3 hours. What is the penguin's speed in still water?
I figured its speed with the current and against it but have no idea how to figure out still water. HELP!
with current- 9=1r so r=9
against current- 9=3r so r=3
Now what???
Click here to see answer by Fombitz(13828)

Question 138268: I need help setting up a problem. I'm totally stuck. please help me!
Question: It takes Sally 15 min to pick the apples from t he tree in her backyard. Lisa can do it in 25 min. How long will it take them working together?
Click here to see answer by ankor@dixie-net.com(15746)

Question 138408: Tim can trim 10 trees in 2/3 the time it takes Tom. They trim trees together for 1 hour 11 minutes. Then Tom continues alone until a total of 10 trees are trimmed (it took him 35 minutes 30 seconds). Working alone, how long would it take Tim to trim 10 trees?
Click here to see answer by scott8148(6628)

Question 138768: Mr. Samson can sort the bins in 12 days. If Joe Helps him, it takes only 4 days. How long would it take Joe to sort the bins himself
Click here to see answer by stanbon(57967)

Question 139247: If it takes a small inlet pipe 5 hours to fill a pool, a large pipe 2 hours to fill a pool, and a standard oulet pipe 6 hours to empty a pool how long will it take to fill an empty pool if all three pipes are in operation?
Click here to see answer by ankor@dixie-net.com(15746)

Question 139313: Could someone please help with my homework problem. Can't figure out. The time required to empty a tank varies inversely as the rate of pumping. A pump can empty a tank in 90 minutes at the rate of 1200 L/min. How long will the pump take to empty the tank at 3000 L/min ? Thanks a lot.
Click here to see answer by edjones(7569)

Question 139312: Could someone please help me with solving this homework problem. Thank you.
Two workers can trim 400 meters of hedge in 10hrs. How long will five workers take to trim 600 meters of hedge?
Click here to see answer by edjones(7569)

Question 139424: Since there is a topic for this, it must be a very popular subject. My two questions have to do with painting and pool filling. I haven't had algebra in 38 years and am studying for an Asset placement test. Can figure most things out except these two.
Susan can paint a house in 4 hours. John can paint a house in 6 hours. If they work together, how long will it take them to paint the house. The answer is 2 hours 24 minutes, but I need to know how to get to that answer.
Jim can fill a pool carrying buckets of water in 30 minutes. Sue can do the same job in 45 minutes. Tony can do the same job in 1 ½ hours. How quickly can all three fill the pool together? Same process here, but can't remember the equation(s).
Any assistance you can give me is appreciated. I have a BS in computer science from 25 years ago, but I still have to take the math placement test to get retraining after losing my job.
Click here to see answer by scott8148(6628)

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