Question

a carpenter works one third as long after lunch as he worked before lunch if he worked 8 hours total how long did he work before lunch

Answer 1

The carpenter worked 3x, or 6 hrs, before lunch.

Explanation:

Represent the time worked before lunch as 3x and the time worked after lunch as x. Then 3x + x = 8 hrs, and so:

4x = 8 hrs, and

x = 2 hrs

The carpenter worked 3x, or 6 hrs, before lunch.

Answer 2

6 hours before lunch

Explanation:

Let x = hours before lunch

after lunch = 1/3x

Total time worked = 8 hours

x+1/3 x = 8

Combine like terms

4/3x = 8

Multiply each side by 3/4

3/4 * 4/3x = 8 * 3/4

x = 6

6 hours before lunch