If three men or five women or ten children can do a

piece of work in 90 days. In what time two men, 10

women and 30 children do the same job?

1 answer

To solve this problem, we first need to determine the work done by each person (man, woman, child) based on the initial information provided.

Step 1: Determine the total work

We know that:

  • 3 men can complete the work in 90 days.
  • 5 women can complete the same work in 90 days.
  • 10 children can also complete the work in 90 days.

Let's represent the total work as \( W \).

From the data we have:

  1. Work done by 3 men in 90 days: \[ 3M \times 90 = W \implies 3M = \frac{W}{90} \implies M = \frac{W}{270} \]

  2. Work done by 5 women in 90 days: \[ 5W \times 90 = W \implies 5W = \frac{W}{90} \implies W = \frac{W}{450} \]

  3. Work done by 10 children in 90 days: \[ 10C \times 90 = W \implies 10C = \frac{W}{90} \implies C = \frac{W}{900} \]

Now we have the work rates of one man, one woman, and one child in terms of \( W \):

  • \( M = \frac{W}{270} \)
  • \( W = \frac{W}{450} \)
  • \( C = \frac{W}{900} \)

Step 2: Calculate work done by 2 men, 10 women, and 30 children

Next, we find the combined work rate for 2 men, 10 women, and 30 children.

  • Work rate for 2 men: \[ 2M = 2 \times \frac{W}{270} = \frac{2W}{270} = \frac{W}{135} \]

  • Work rate for 10 women: \[ 10W = 10 \times \frac{W}{450} = \frac{10W}{450} = \frac{W}{45} \]

  • Work rate for 30 children: \[ 30C = 30 \times \frac{W}{900} = \frac{30W}{900} = \frac{W}{30} \]

Step 3: Combine the work rates

Now we sum the work rates of 2 men, 10 women, and 30 children: \[ \text{Total work rate} = \frac{W}{135} + \frac{W}{45} + \frac{W}{30} \]

To combine these fractions, we first find a common denominator. The least common multiple (LCM) of 135, 45, and 30 is 270.

Calculating each term:

\[ \frac{W}{135} = \frac{2W}{270} \]

\[ \frac{W}{45} = \frac{6W}{270} \]

\[ \frac{W}{30} = \frac{9W}{270} \]

Now we can add these together: \[ \text{Total work rate} = \frac{2W + 6W + 9W}{270} = \frac{17W}{270} \]

Step 4: Calculate the time taken to complete the work

Now that we have the total work rate, we can find the time it takes to complete the work.

Let \( T \) be the time in days to complete the work \( W \): \[ W = \text{Total work rate} \times T \] \[ W = \frac{17W}{270} \times T \]

Dividing both sides by \( W \): \[ 1 = \frac{17}{270} \times T \] \[ T = \frac{270}{17} \approx 15.88 \text{ days} \]

Conclusion

Therefore, 2 men, 10 women, and 30 children can complete the job in approximately 15.88 days.