Question

Tanya can wash a car and vacuum its interior in 2 hours. Pat needs 5 hours to do this same job. If Tanya and Pat work together, how many hours will it take them to clean a car??

Answer 1

It will take 1.43 hours for them to clean the car.

Explanation:

The together rate is the sum of each separate rate.

In this problem:

Together rate: 1/x

Tanya's rate: 1/2

Pat's rate: 1/5

Together rate = Tanya's rate + Pat's rate

`(1)/(x) = (1)/(2) + (1)/(5)`

`(1)/(x) = (5 + 2)/(10)`

`(1)/(x) = (7)/(10)`

`7x = 10`

`x = (10)/(7)`

`x = 1.43`

It will take 1.43 hours for them to clean the car.