EXPLANATION
Let's see the facts:
Jane paints in ----------> 7 hours
In 7 hours, Jane paints an office. She finishes 1/7 of the mission in 1 hour.
The job of Associate is done in 3 hours: Jane does 3/7 of the assignment and Associate does 4/7 of the assignment in 3 hours.
Jane + partner paints in -----> 3 hours
In 3 hours, the partner alone performs 4/7 of the work, and
In x Hours, does 3/7.
In order to calculate the associate's paint time, we need to determine the proportion:
x*4/7 = 3*3/7 --> x*4/7 = 9/7
Isolating x:
x= (7/4)* 9/7 = 9/4 = 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Answer: The associate's cumulative time alone: 3 hours + 2 hours and 15 minutes = 5 hours + 15 minutes.