Harry can rake the leaves in the yard 8 hours faster than his little brother Jimmy can. If they work together, they can complete the job in 3 hours. Using complete sentences, explain each step in figuring out how to determine the time it would take Jimmy to complete this job on his own.

Question

anonymous · Answer

I think I'm supposed to solve this in the form of a rational function.

anonymous · Answer

I'm just not sure how I'm supposed to form my response.
I originally did:
1/(x-8) + 1/x = 1/3
But, I wasn't sure how to simplify and I'm not sure if I even did it right.

anonymous · Answer

if we recall:
harry x/8 hours
jimmy x hours

x + x/8 = 3 hours
$$\frac{ 9x }{ 8 }=3$$

9x = 24
x = 24 /9

jimmy takes 2,66 hours