SOLUTION: Samuel reads one and a half times as fast as Benjamin. If Samuel can read 36 pages in 50 minutes, how long will it take Benjamin to complete a 120 page book?

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Question 1012291: Samuel reads one and a half times as fast as Benjamin. If Samuel can read 36 pages in 50 minutes, how long will it take Benjamin to complete a 120 page book?
Answer by Theo(13342) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
samuel can read 36 pages in 50 minutes.

since rate * time = quantity of work produced, the formula for samuel becomes:

rate * 50 = 36

solve for rate to get rate = 36/50.

that's samuel's rate.

samuel's rate is 1.5 times benjamin's rate.

this means that 36/50 = 1.5 * benjamin's rate.

solve for benjamin's rate to get benjamin's rate = (36/50) / 1.5.

simplify to get benjamin's rate is equal to 24/50 pages per minute.

we'll use the formula of rate * time = quantity to figure out how long it will take benjamin to read 120 pages.

quantity = 120 pages
rate = 24/50 pages per minute

rate * time = quantity becomes 24/50 * time = 120.

solve for time to get time = 120 / (24/50) which makes time = 250 minutes.

it will take benjamin 250 minutes to read 120 pages.