SOLUTION: How do I solve this? Can you show me the work as well? I am lost. Thank you. Working together, an experienced painter and an apprentice can paint the entire house in 12 hours. W

Algebra ->  Rate-of-work-word-problems -> SOLUTION: How do I solve this? Can you show me the work as well? I am lost. Thank you. Working together, an experienced painter and an apprentice can paint the entire house in 12 hours. W      Log On


   

Question 860083: How do I solve this? Can you show me the work as well? I am lost. Thank you.
Working together, an experienced painter and an apprentice can paint the entire house in 12 hours. Working alone, it takes the apprentice painter to paint the entire house 5 hours longer than the experienced painter to do the job. How long would it take for the apprentice painter to paint the entire house alone?

Answer by josgarithmetic(39617) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
The rate of the painter and his apprentice working simultaneously is the sum of their individual rates.

Painter, 1/u jobs per hour
Apprentice, 1/(u+5) jobs per hour
Painter + Apprentice, 1/12 jobs per hour
The variable, u, is assigned as the time for the painter to paint the one house.

highlight_green%281%2Fu%2B1%2F%28u%2B5%29=1%2F12%29.
That was the analysis leading to the equation.

Solve the the single variable equation for u. Use it to compute u+5.