SOLUTION: It takes 20 men 60 days to complete a building work.how many days longer would it take 15 men, assuming that they all work at the same rate (formula method)

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Question 1203763: It takes 20 men 60 days to complete a building work.how many days longer would it take 15 men, assuming that they all work at the same rate (formula method)


Found 4 solutions by mananth, josgarithmetic, greenestamps, mccravyedwin:
Answer by mananth(16946) About Me  (Show Source):
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It takes 20 men 60 days to complete a building work.
how many days longer would it take 15 men, assuming that they all work at the same rate (formula method)
In this problem itis a case of inverse proportion.
W1 *M1=W2*M2
20*60 = 15*x
(20/15) *60 =x
= 80 days
So 15 men will take 20 days more to complete the job

Answer by josgarithmetic(39617) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
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20 men 60 days to complete a building work.
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RATE%2ATIME=WORK
20%2Ar%2A60=1, assuming 1 full piece of work
highlight_green%281200r=1%29

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how many days longer would it take 15 men,
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(Also notice how 15 relates to 20.)

highlight_green%2815r%2A%2860%2Bd%29=1%29

Ratio of the the two equations will eliminate r.
%2815r%2860%2Bd%29%29%2F%281200r%29=1%2F1
%2860%2Bd%29%2F80=1
d%2B60=80
highlight%28d=20%29-------------------twenty more days

Answer by greenestamps(13200) About Me  (Show Source):
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I don't know exactly what method you are calling the "formula method".... But simple logical reasoning can find the answer with far less work than with any formal algebra.

15 men working instead of 20 is 15/20 = 3/4 as many men, so to complete the job requires 4/3 as many day.

4/3 of 60 days is 80 days, which is 20 days more than 60.

ANSWER: 20 more days


Answer by mccravyedwin(407) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
It takes 20 men 60 days to complete a building work. how many days longer would
it take 15 men, assuming that they all work at the same rate (formula method)
You want the formula method but first, this is the best way:
Get the least common multiple of two of the corresponding given quantities.
Think of what would happen if you had that least common multiple instead.
Then think of what would happen if you had the other quantity. 

The least common multiple of 20 men and 15 men is 60 men.
Since it takes 20 men 60 days to complete a building work,
three times as many men, 60, will take 1/3 as long, or 20 days.
Then, one fourth as many men as that, 15, will take 4 times as long or 80 days.
Then 80 days is 20 more days than 60. 

But your prof doesn't like reasoning it out, and wants you to plug in a formula.
OK, let's humor your prof.

Use the worker-time-job formula, which is:

%28W%5B1%5DT%5B1%5D%29%2FJ%5B1%5D%22%22=%22%22%28W%5B2%5DT%5B2%5D%29%2FJ%5B2%5D

where

W1 = the number of workers in the first situation.
T1 = the number of time units (days in this case) in the first situation.
J1 = the number of jobs done in the first situation.

W2 = the number of workers in the second situation.
T2 = the number of time units (days in this case) in the second situation.
J2 = the number of jobs done in the second situation.

W1 = 20             W2 = 15     
T1 = 60             T2 = unknown quantity 
J1 =  1             J2 =  1

%28W%5B1%5DT%5B1%5D%29%2FJ%5B1%5D%22%22=%22%22%28W%5B2%5DT%5B2%5D%29%2FJ%5B2%5D

%2820%2A60%29%2F1%22%22=%22%22%2815%2AT%5B2%5D%29%2F1

1200%22%22=%22%2215%2AT%5B2%5D

1200%2F15%22%22=%22%22T%5B2%5D

80%22%22=%22%22T%5B2%5D

80 days is 20 more days than 60.  Answer: 20 days.

Edwin