WEEK 5 - Work Rates
You work in retail. In the past you inventoried and shelved the weekly UPS shipment in 2 hours. Your co-worker usually takes 3 hours to do the UPS shipment. How long will it take the two of you working together to finish this week’s UPS shipment?
1)What units are you looking for?
Choose a variable to represent this value?
2)Should your answer be more or less than 2 hours? Why?
3)What fraction of the job can you do in 1 hour working alone?
This is your work rate.
4)What fraction of the job can your co-worker do in 1 hour working alone? This is his work rate.
5)Using the variable you chose, what fraction of the job can you two do in 1 hour working together?
This is your combined work rate.
6)Write an equation.
7)Describe at least two ways to solve this equation.
We can finish the UPS shipment in ________ ________ working together.
Do you know the answer to any of these questions?
I don't know the answer to any of these questions as why my is my biggest struggle.
WEEK 5 - Work Rates
You work in retail. In the past you inventoried and shelved the weekly UPS shipment in 2 hours. Your co-worker usually takes 3 hours to do the UPS shipment. How long will it take the two of you working together to finish this week’s UPS shipment?
1)What units are you looking for?
Choose a variable to represent this value?
2)Should your answer be more or less than 2 hours? Why?
3)What fraction of the job can you do in 1 hour working alone?
This is your work rate.
4)What fraction of the job can your co-worker do in 1 hour working alone? This is his work rate.
5)Using the variable you chose, what fraction of the job can you two do in 1 hour working together?
This is your combined work rate.
6)Write an equation.
7)Describe at least two ways to solve this equation.
We can finish the UPS shipment in ________ ________ working together.
Since you don't even know this answer, you need more help than we can provide for you.
3)What fraction of the job can you do in 1 hour working alone?
This is your work rate.
1) The units we are looking for in this question are the time required to finish the UPS shipment. We can represent this value with the variable "x".
2) Our answer should be less than 2 hours because when two people work together, their combined work rate is higher than the individual work rates. Therefore, the total time required will be less than the time it takes for one person alone.
3) To find the fraction of the job you can do in 1 hour working alone, divide the total job (1 UPS shipment) by the time it takes for you to finish it alone (2 hours). So your work rate is 1/2 or 0.5.
4) To find the fraction of the job your co-worker can do in 1 hour working alone, divide the total job (1 UPS shipment) by the time it takes for your co-worker to finish it alone (3 hours). So your co-worker's work rate is 1/3 or approximately 0.333.
5) To find the fraction of the job you two can do in 1 hour working together, simply add your individual work rates. So your combined work rate is 0.5 + 0.333 = 0.833.
6) The equation to find the time it takes for you and your co-worker to finish the UPS shipment together is: 1 / (0.5 + 0.333) = x.
7) Two ways to solve this equation are:
- Algebraic method: Simplify the equation by adding 0.5 + 0.333 = 0.833, then take the reciprocal of 0.833 to find x.
- Unitary method: Divide 1 by 0.833 to find the value of x.
By solving the equation using either method, you will find the time it takes for you and your co-worker to finish the UPS shipment together. Substitute the value of x into the blank spaces in the statement "We can finish the UPS shipment in ________ ________ working together."