169k views
3 votes
Can someone please explain the math on this one to me? Thanks!

Assume that is takes an average of 3 man-hours to stack 1 ton of a particular item. In order to stack 36 tons in 6 hours, the number of people required is _____

User Digory Doo
by
5.8k points

2 Answers

4 votes

Answer:

18 people

Explanation:

Method A:

3 man-hours to stack 1 ton

36 tons is 36 times 1 ton, so it takes 36 times as long to stack.

36 * 3 man-hours to stack 36 * 1 ton, or

108 man-hours to stack 36 tons

To do the job in 6 hours instead of 108, you need to do 108/6 = 18 times as much work per hour, so you need 18 times as many people.

18 * 1 person = 18 people

Answer: 18 people

Method B:

1 person works 3 hours and stacks 1 ton. That same person works another 3 hours and stacks another ton. In a total of 6 hours, 1 person stacked 2 tons. Since you need 36 tons stacked in the same 6 hours, and 36 = 18 * 2, you need 18 times the number of people, so you need 18 people.

User Gerasimos R
by
5.9k points
2 votes

Answer:

18 men = 36 tons in 6 hours

Explanation:

3 men = 1 ton in 1 hour

6 men = 2 ton in 1 hour

9 men = 3 tons in 1 hour

with this you find a pattern

3 men = 2 tons in 2 hours

3 men = 3 tons in 3 hours

3 men = 6 tons in 6 hours

6 men = 12 tons in 6 hours

9 men = 18 tons in 6 hours

12 men = 24 tons in 6 hours

15 men = 30 tons in 6 hours

18 men = 36 tons in 6 hours

(This is how i worked it out)

User Schilli
by
5.6k points