Question 37655
Andre and Eric have a home improvement business. They get a job to paint Mrs. Stover's living room. Andre can paint a room in 4 hours and Eric can paint a room in 12 hours. They decided to paint together to save time. How long does it take for the two of them to paint the room?
Let x = the time it would take the two to work together.
If andre can do the job in 4 hrs. then in one hour he can do 1/4 of the job.
If eric can do the job in 12 hrs. then in one hour he can do 1/12 of the job.
So together, if it takes x hours to do the entire job we show that as...
1/4x + 1/12x = 1 complete job.
Find LCD = 12
12(1/4x + 1/12x) = 12(1)
Multiply...
3x + x = 12
Add like terms...
4x = 12
Divide by 4...
x = 3
Andre and Eric can do the job together in 3 hrs.
Good Luck!
Thanks for the question!