Question

The manager of Stewart siding company found that the number of workers used to side a house varies inversely with the number of hours needed to finish the job. If four workers side the house in 48 hours, how many hours will it take six workers, working at the same speed, to do the same job?

a) 72 hours
b) 32 hours
c) 24 hours
d) 36 hours

Answer 1

To solve this problem, we can use the formula for inverse variation: Workers × Hours = k. We can plug in the values given in the initial situation and solve for k. Now, we can use this value of k to find the number of hours it will take six workers to do the same job.

Step-by-step explanation:

To solve this problem, we can use the formula for inverse variation:

Workers × Hours = k

where k is a constant. We can plug in the values given in the initial situation and solve for k:

4 × 48 = k
192 = k

Now, we can use this value of k to find the number of hours it will take six workers to do the same job:

6 × Hours = 192
Hours = 192 / 6
Hours = 32