Max and Maggie have to clean the house. It takes Max 12 hours to clean the house, while Maggie can complete the task in 4 hours. Their sister says that it will take 3 hours to complete if they work together. Explain each step in solving this equation and determine if the sister is correct or not.
you first take half of 12 which is 6, then you take half of 4 which is 2. you know find the answer by dividing 6 by 2. the sister is correct
The sum of their rates is the combined rate. But we don't know the combined time. We'll solve for it.
112+14=1t
In this case the LCM of the entire equation is 34t, or 12t.
Multiply everything by 12t.
t+3t=12
4t=12
t=3
Their sister is correct.