Question

Jim takes an hour to fold the weekly washing for his family. His older sister Sara can do the same job in half the time. How many minutes would it take them to fold the washing together if they continue to fold at their own rates?

Answer 1

Let's start by finding out how long it takes Jim to fold the washing in minutes. Since there are 60 minutes in an hour, Jim takes 60 minutes to fold the washing. Sara can do the same job in half the time, so she takes 30 minutes to fold the washing. To find out how long it would take them to fold the washing together, we can use the formula: Time = (Work) / (Rate) In this case, the "work" is folding the washing, and the "rate" is how long it takes each person to do the work. We can add their rates together to get the combined rate: Combined rate = Jim's rate + Sara's rate Combined rate = 1/60 + 1/30 To add these fractions, we need to find a common denominator, which is 60: