Jack and Lucy can prepare a meal for a large party in 4 hours. Lucy alone can complete the job in 2 hours less time than Jack alone. Find the time that each person can prepare the meal alone.

Respuesta :

ANSWER:

Jack = 9.12 hours

Lucy = 7.12 hours

STEP-BY-STEP EXPLANATION:

Given:

Jack + Lucy = 4 hours

Jack = x hours

Lucy = (x - 2) hours

From the statement we can propose the following equation:

[tex]\frac{1}{x}+\frac{1}{x-2}=\frac{1}{4}[/tex]

We solve for x, like this:

[tex]\begin{gathered} \frac{x-2+x}{x\cdot(x-2)}=\frac{1}{4} \\ (2x-2)\cdot4=x\cdot(x-2) \\ 8x-8=x^2-2x \\ x^2-10x+8=0 \\ a=1 \\ b=-10 \\ c=8 \\ \text{ replacing in the general formula} \\ x_{1,2}=\frac{-b\pm\sqrt[]{b^2-4ac}}{2a} \\ x_1=\frac{-(-10)+\sqrt[]{(-10)^2-4\cdot1\cdot8}}{2\cdot1}=9.12 \\ x_2=\frac{-(-10)-\sqrt[]{(-10)^2-4\cdot1\cdot8}}{2\cdot1}=0.87 \end{gathered}[/tex]

The value cannot be 0.87 because it is a value below 4 hours, therefore, the value that it has here is 9.17 hours

Therefore:

Jack = 9.12 hours

Lucy = 7.12 (9.12 - 2) hours

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