Final answer:
To find out how long it will take Kenesha and Paula to prepare the greeting cards when they work together, we need to determine their combined work rate. Their combined work rate is 20/18 cards per minute, so it will take them 18 minutes to prepare the cards.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find out how long it will take Kenesha and Paula to prepare the greeting cards when they work together, we need to determine their combined work rate. Kenesha can prepare 20 cards in 45 minutes, so her work rate is 20 cards / 45 minutes = 4/9 cards per minute. Similarly, Paula can prepare 20 cards in 30 minutes, so her work rate is 20 cards / 30 minutes = 2/3 cards per minute.
To find their combined work rate, we add their individual work rates: 4/9 cards per minute + 2/3 cards per minute = 8/18 cards per minute + 12/18 cards per minute = 20/18 cards per minute.
Now, to find how long it will take them to prepare the cards, we divide the total number of cards by their combined work rate:
Time taken = 20 cards / (20/18 cards per minute) = 20 cards * (18/20) minutes per card = 18 minutes.