<PRE><B>Question 188612</B>
One maid can clean the house three times faster than another. Working together they can clean the entire house in 3 hours. How long would it take the faster maid cleaning alone?

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Faster maid DATA:
time = x hr/job ; rate = 1/x job/jhr
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Slower maid DATA:
time = 3x hr/job ; rate = 1/3x job/hr
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Together DATA:
time = 3 hr/job ; rate = 1/3 job/hr
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Equation:
rate + rate = together rate
1/x + 1/3x = 1/3
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Multiply thru by 3x to get:
3 + 1 = x
x = 4 hrs (time for the faster maid to do the job)
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Cheers,
Stan H.</PRE>