Problema Solution

Jack, Kay, and Lynn deliver advertising flyers in a small town. If each person works alone, it takes Jack 6 h to deliver all the flyers, and it takes Lynn 1 h longer than it takes Kay. Working together, they can deliver all the flyers in 50% of the time it takes Kay working alone. How long does it take Kay to deliver all the flyers alone?

Answer provided by our tutors

let


6 h is the time Jack takes to deliver all the flyers alone

x = the time Kay takes to deliver all the flyers alone (in hours), x>0

y = the time Lynn takes to deliver all the flyers alone (in hours), y>0


it takes Lynn 1 h longer than it takes Kay


y = x + 1


working together, they can deliver all the flyers in 50% of the time it takes Kay working alone that is 0.5*x


in 1 hour:


Jack will finish 1/6 of the job

Kay will finish 1/x of the job

Lynn will finish 1/y of the job

together they will finish 1/(0.5x) of the job


thus we can write


1/6 + 1/x + 1/y = 1/(0.5x)


by solving the system of equations


y = x + 1

1/6 + 1/x + 1/y = 1/(0.5x)


we find


x = 2 hours


y = 3 hours


we consider only the positive solutions since x>0 and y>0


Kay needs 2 hours to deliver all the flyers alone.