Question

A local charity is wrapping holiday gifts for local needy families. When 8 volunteers work together, they can get all the gifts wrapped and distributed in 6 hours. How many hours would it have taken if there had been 12 volunteers, each working at the same rate?

Answer 1

4 hours

Explanation:

We can use rate-work formula shown below:

RWT = J

Where

R is the Rate

W is the number of workers

T is the time

J is the Job

Given,

W = 8

T = 6

J = 1 (we consider the task as "1" task)

Substituting, we find R:

RWT = J

R(8)(6) = 1

48R = 1

R = 1/48

Now, we need to find the time. Given:

W = 12

T = ?? (we want to find)

J = 1 (same task)

R = 1/48 (just found)

Substituting, we find our answer:

RWT = J

(1/48)(12)T = 1

(1/4)T = 1

T = 4 hours