SOLUTION: When all of the white mice escape from the pet store it takes Jim 12 minutes to round them up and return them. Bob works slower than Jim and it takes him 18 minutes to do the same

Algebra ->  Rate-of-work-word-problems -> SOLUTION: When all of the white mice escape from the pet store it takes Jim 12 minutes to round them up and return them. Bob works slower than Jim and it takes him 18 minutes to do the same       Log On


   

Question 190513This question is from textbook Elementary and Intermediate Algebra
: When all of the white mice escape from the pet store it takes Jim 12 minutes to round them up and return them. Bob works slower than Jim and it takes him 18 minutes to do the same task. How many minutes would it take to return all of the mice if they both worked together? This question is from textbook Elementary and Intermediate Algebra

Answer by jonvaliente(64) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Let 1%2F12=amount of work Jim does in 1 minute
. 1%2F18=amount of work Bob does in 1 minute
. 1%2Fx=amount of work both Jim and Bob does in 1 minute
. x=number of minutes Jim and Bob will do the work
.
%281%2F12%29%2B%281%2F18%29=%281%2Fx%29
.
Multiply both sides by x:
.
%281%2F12%29%2Ax%2B%281%2F18%29%2Ax=%281%2Fx%29%2Ax
%28x%2F12%29%2B%28x%2F18%29=1
.
Multiply both sides by 36(GCF):
.
%28x%2F12%29%2A36%2B%28x%2F18%29%2A36=1%2A36
3x%2B2x=36
5x=36
.
dividing both sides by 5:
.
5x%2F5=36%2F5
x=7.2
.
It will take Jim and Bob 7.2 minutes to the job together