Math Problem Statement

Vince can paint a house in 5 days and Janno can do the same work in 4 days. How long will it take them to finish the same work if they work together?

Solution

To solve the problem, we need to determine how long it will take Vince and Janno to paint the house together.

Step 1: Work rates of Vince and Janno

  • Vince can paint the house in 5 days, so his work rate is 15\frac{1}{5} of the house per day.
  • Janno can paint the house in 4 days, so his work rate is 14\frac{1}{4} of the house per day.

Step 2: Combined work rate

When they work together, their combined work rate is the sum of their individual rates: Combined work rate=15+14\text{Combined work rate} = \frac{1}{5} + \frac{1}{4} To add these, we find a common denominator: 15+14=420+520=920\frac{1}{5} + \frac{1}{4} = \frac{4}{20} + \frac{5}{20} = \frac{9}{20} So, together they can complete 920\frac{9}{20} of the house per day.

Step 3: Time to complete the job together

To find how long it will take them to complete the entire job, we take the reciprocal of the combined rate: Time to finish=1920=209 days\text{Time to finish} = \frac{1}{\frac{9}{20}} = \frac{20}{9} \text{ days} This simplifies to approximately 2.22 days.

Conclusion:

Vince and Janno, working together, can finish the job in 209\frac{20}{9} days, or approximately 2.22 days.

Would you like a deeper explanation of any step? Here are some related questions you might want to explore:

  1. What is the work rate formula for similar problems?
  2. How do you find a common denominator when adding fractions?
  3. How does the reciprocal of a rate give time?
  4. Can this method be applied to more than two workers?
  5. What if one of them takes breaks, how would that affect the calculation?

Tip: When solving work rate problems, adding individual rates is a quick way to determine the total rate when people work together.

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Math Problem Analysis

Mathematical Concepts

Work Rate
Fractions
Reciprocal

Formulas

Work rate = 1 / time
Combined work rate = 1/time1 + 1/time2
Time to complete together = 1 / (combined work rate)

Theorems

Work Rate Theorem

Suitable Grade Level

Grades 7-9