Question

Janet, an experienced shipping clerk, can fill a certain order in 7 hours. Jim, a new clerk, needs 10 hours to do the same job. Working together, how long will it take them to fill the order?

Answer 1

When working together, it will take Janet and Jim approximately 4.12 hours to fill the order.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find out how long it will take Janet and Jim to fill the order when working together, we can use the concept of work rates.

Janet's work rate is 1 order per 7 hours, and Jim's work rate is 1 order per 10 hours. When working together, their work rates are additive. So, their combined work rate is:

(1/7) + (1/10) = 17/70

To find the time it will take them to fill the order, we can use the formula:

Time = 1 / Combined work rate

Substituting the combined work rate, we have:

Time = 1 / (17/70) = 70/17 ≈ 4.12 hours