Trevon can oil lanes in a bowling alley in 7 hours. Imani can oil the same lanes in 10 hours. Find out how long it would take them if they worked together.
So the way that you would first approach this question is to put what Trevor and Imani can do in terms of an hour Trevon = 7hours Trevon can do 1/7 of a lane in an hour Imani = 10hours Imagine can do 1/10 of a lane in an hour \[\frac{ 1 }{ 7 } + \frac{ 1 }{ 10 } = \frac{ 10 }{ 70 } + \frac{ 7 }{ 70 } = \frac{ 17 }{ 70 }\]
Together, they can do 17/70 of a lane, in an hour
Imagine, lol I meant Imani :)
Does this make sense so far?
yes
Now we need a variable, and an equation, for how long it would take for them to do it together. Let t = time it would take for them to do the job together \[\frac{ 1 }{ t } = \frac{ 17 }{ 70 }\] Flip it \[\frac{ t }{ 1 } = \frac{ 70 }{ 17 }\] \[t = \frac{ 70 }{ 17 }\]
Divide the two numbers, and you should "Imani and Trevor can do the job together in roughly 4.1hours."
Though if your teacher wants a fraction, or a decimal rounded to a certain point, be sure to give that instead.
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