SOLUTION: "It takes Beverly 4 hours to clean a room. If Steve worked together with her, it would take only 48 minutes for the room to be cleaned. How long would it take Steve to clean the ro

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Question 727857: "It takes Beverly 4 hours to clean a room. If Steve worked together with her, it would take only 48 minutes for the room to be cleaned. How long would it take Steve to clean the room by himself?"
I honestly have no idea how to figure this out.
Found 2 solutions by josgarithmetic, josmiceli:
Answer by josgarithmetic(39838) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Beverly's and Steve's rates are added by addition when they work together to clean the room. Use rates in the form of JOB PER HOUR, not as how many hours per job. The rates should be easier to handle as jobs per hour.

If I stop this help here, can you figure how to solve the problem now, or should I continue?

...
CONTINUING

To take care of the 48 minutes datum, this is 80% of an hour, or 4/5 of an hour.

Beverley's rate = 1/4 jobs per hour
Steve's rate = r jobs per hour (we do not yet know his rate)
Beverley plus Steve rate = jobs per hour

Their rates are additive while they work together.
, and we must solve for r;

as jobs per hour

Steve cleaning the room alone, does the job in 1 hour. One job per hour, and reciprocal would be one hour per job.

Answer by josmiceli(19441) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
You have to find the rate of working for each person
and add their rates of working to get their rate
working together.
Let = Steve's time working alone
( 1 room cleaned / 4 hrs ) + ( 1 room cleaned in t hrs ) = ( 1 room cleaned / 48 minutes )
You have to convert 48 min to hrs
hrs

Multiply both sides by

It will take Steve 1 hr working alone
check:

OK