Final answer:
The instructor would take 8 days to do the work alone.
Step-by-step explanation:
To solve this problem, let's let x represent the number of days it would take the instructor to do the work alone. We can set up two equations based on the given information:
Equation 1: Apprentice's rate = 1 job / 24 days = 1/24 job per day
Equation 2: Apprentice and instructor's combined rate = 1 job / 6 days = 1/6 job per day
We can set up the following equation to represent the combined rate:
1/24 + 1/x = 1/6
To simplify this equation, we multiply both sides by 24x to eliminate the fractions:
x + 24 = 4x
Now, we can solve for x by subtracting x from both sides and then dividing by 3:
24 = 3x
x = 8
Therefore, it would take the instructor 8 days to do the work alone.