Question

it takes 15 hours for 36 caterpillars to eat a bush. How many hours would it take for 54 caterpillars to eat the same bush?

Answer 1

Answer: It would take 54 caterpillars 10 hours to eat the same bush.

Step-by-step explanation: The rate at which the caterpillars eat the bush is proportional to the number of caterpillars. In other words, if you have more caterpillars, they will eat the bush faster.

So, if 36 caterpillars can eat a bush in 15 hours, we can calculate the rate at which one caterpillar eats the bush by dividing the total time by the number of caterpillars:

Rate of 1 caterpillar = 15 hours / 36 caterpillars = 0.4167 hours/caterpillar

Now, to find out how long it would take for 54 caterpillars to eat the bush, we divide the total time by the new number of caterpillars, using the rate we just calculated:

Time for 54 caterpillars = 15 hours / (54 caterpillars / 36 caterpillars) = 10 hours.

So, it would take 54 caterpillars 10 hours to eat the same bush.

Answer 2

15 hours - 36 caterpillars

x hours - 54 caterpillars

`54x=15\cdot36\\54x=540\\x=10`

10 hours