Question

Tammy, working alone, could clean one-half the area in one hour. Her partner Melissa, working alone could clean one-third of the area in one hour. How long would it take them to clean the area if they worked together?

Answer 1

tammy's rate is 1/2 a job per hour
Melissa's rate is 1/3 of a job per hour

add the two fractions to get ???

Answer 2

you get 5/6

Answer 3

but then i want to know how long it would take them to clean up the whole area

Answer 4

so their combined rate is 5/6 of a job per hour

Answer 5

(rate)*(time) = 1 full job

(5/6 job per hr)*(x hours) = 1 full job

(5/6)*x = 1

x = ??

Answer 6

do i divide the job per hr from 1 full job..?

Answer 7

Multiply both sides by the reciprocal of 5/6