SOLUTION: Elf #1 has made 20 toy trains today and can make 5 more per hour. Elf #2 has made 28 trains today and can make 3 more per hour. How many hours until both elves have made the same n

Algebra ->  Rate-of-work-word-problems -> SOLUTION: Elf #1 has made 20 toy trains today and can make 5 more per hour. Elf #2 has made 28 trains today and can make 3 more per hour. How many hours until both elves have made the same n      Log On


   



Question 1012240: Elf #1 has made 20 toy trains today and can make 5 more per hour. Elf #2 has made 28 trains today and can make 3 more per hour. How many hours until both elves have made the same number of trains and how many trains will that be?
Answer by Theo(13342) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
equation for elf 1 is 20 + 5x.
equation for elf 2 is 28 + 3x.

x is the number of hours.
5x is the number of additional trains elf 1 can make in x hours.
3x is the number of additional trains elf 2 can make in x hours.

you want to know how many hours are required for each to make the same number of trains.

20 + 5x is the total number of trains elf 1 can make in x hours.
28 + 3x is the total number of trains elf 2 can make in x hours.

if you want the total number of trains each makes to be the same, then set 20 + 5x equal to 28 + 3x.

your equation is 20 + 5x = 28 + 3x.

solve for x in this equaiton and you should have your answer.

start with 20 + 5x = 28 + 3x.

subtract 20 from both sides of this equation and subtract 3x from both sides of this equation to get 5x - 3x = 28 - 20

combine like terms to get 2x = 8

divide both sides of this equation by 2 to get x = 4.

they should have built a total of the same number of trains in 4 houjrs.

elf 1 will have built a total of 20 + 5*4 = 40 trains.

elf2 will have built a total of 28 + 3*4 = 40 trains.

solution is good.

it will take 4 additional hours and they both will have made a total of 40 trains each.