one maid can clean the house three times faster than another. Working together they can clean the entire house in 3 hours. How long would it take the faster maid cleaning alone?
Faster maid DATA: time = x hr/job ; rate = 1/x job/jhr Slower maid DATA: time = 3x hr/job ; rate = 1/3x job/hr Together DATA: time = 3 hr/job ; rate = 1/3 job/hr Equation: rate + rate = together rate 1/x + 1/3x = 1/3 Multiply thru by 3x to get: 3 + 1 = x x = 4 hrs (time for the faster maid to do the job)