Question

Rukmani and family work a certain number of nights draining and clearing their fields, and then the same number sifting and winnowing. How many nights do they work on each of these two tasks?

a) 7 nights each
b) 14 nights each
c) 3 nights draining, 3 nights sifting
d) 5 nights draining, 5 nights sifting

Answer 1

a) 7 nights each. Rukmani and her family work 7 nights on each task.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the number of nights Rukmani and her family work on each task, we can set up an equation. Let's say they work x number of nights draining and clearing the fields, and x number of nights sifting and winnowing. Since they work the same number of nights for each task, the equation becomes:

x + x = total number of nights worked

Combining like terms:

2x = total number of nights worked

If we know the total number of nights they worked, we can solve for x by dividing by 2:

x = total number of nights worked / 2

Based on the given answer choices, the correct option is a) 7 nights each, since 7 divided by 2 is equal to 3.5, which is not a whole number. Therefore, they must work 7 nights on each task.