An experienced accountant can balance the books twice as fast as a new accountant. Working together

Discussion in 'Calculator Requests' started by math_celebrity, Nov 19, 2016.

  1. math_celebrity

    math_celebrity Administrator Staff Member

    An experienced accountant can balance the books twice as fast as a new accountant. Working together it takes the accountants 10 hours. How long would it take the experienced accountant working alone?

    Person A: x/2 job per hour
    Person B: 1/x job per hour

    Set up our equation:
    1/x + 1/(2x) = 1/10

    Multiply the first fraction by 2/2 to get common denominators;
    2/(2x) + 1/(2x) = 1/10

    Combine like terms
    3/2x = 1/10

    Cross multiply:
    30 = 2x

    Divide each side by 2:
    x = 15
     

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