Practice Test
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Start by finding the unit rate of the portion of the driveway per hour that can be shoveled by Lee and Susan, individually.
J
We are told that Lee can shovel a driveway in 3 hours and Susan can do it in 2 hours. We will find the time t that it would take for them to do the job together. Let's start by finding the unit rate of the portion of the driveway per hour
that can be completed by Lee and Susan, individually.
Lee's Rate: & 1 driveway/3hours [0.75em]
Susan's Rate: & 1 driveway/2 hours
Note that the product of rate and time gives the fraction of the job done. We can multiply each rate by the time t to represent the amount of the job done by each person.
| People | Rate (driveway/hour) | Fraction of the Job Done |
|---|---|---|
| Lee | 1/3 | 1/3 t |
| Susan | 1/2 | 1/2 t |
The sum of the fractions that represent the amount of the job done by each person will be equal to 1. 1/3 t+1/2 t= 1 We will solve this equation by multiplying both sides by the least common denominator (LCD).
LHS * 6=RHS* 6
Distribute 6
a* 1/b= a/b
Calculate quotient
Add terms
.LHS /5.=.RHS /5.
It would take them 65 hours to shovel the driveway together, which corresponds to option J.