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# If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and

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Joined: 28 Jun 2004
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If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and  [#permalink]

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17 Aug 2004, 15:19
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61% (02:56) correct 39% (02:54) wrong based on 802 sessions

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If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and 13 men and 24 women can do it in 4 days, how long will 7 men and 10 women take to do it?

(A) 4.2 days
(B) 6.8 days
(C) 8.3 days
(D) 9.8 days
(E) 10.2 days
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Re: If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and  [#permalink]

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16 Jan 2014, 21:37
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smcgrath12 wrote:
If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and 13 men and 24 women can do it in 4 days, how long will 7 men and 10 women take to do it?

You will often be able to ballpark or find the exact solution by just working on the multiples of the given equations.

Say rate of work of each man is M and that of each woman is W.

Given: 12M + 16W = 1/5 (Combined rate done per day)
______3M + 4W = 1/20 (in lowest terms) ...........(I)
Given: 13M + 24W = 1/4 ......................................(II)

Reqd: 7M + 10W = ?

Using equations (I) and (II) we need to find the sum of 7M and 10W. We can get a multiple of 7M in various ways:
(3M + 4W = 1/20) * 5 gives 15M + 20W = 1/4
Adding this to equation II, we get 28M + 44W = 1/2
7M + 11W = 1/8

7 men and 11 women complete the work in 8 days. 7 men and 10 women will take a little more than 8 days to complete the work. If you do get such a question in GMAT, you will easily be able to manipulate the equations to get the desired equation. Finding the values of M and W is way too painful to interest GMAT.
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Save up to $1,000 on GMAT prep through 8/20! Learn more here > GMAT self-study has never been more personalized or more fun. Try ORION Free! ##### Most Helpful Community Reply Manager Joined: 28 Jun 2004 Posts: 90 Re: If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and [#permalink] ### Show Tags 17 Aug 2004, 18:24 35 23 Here is how it is solved: 5(12 M + 16 W) = 4(13 M + 24 W) 60M + 80W = 52M + 96W That gives, 8M = 16W, which is , 1M=2W Now, 12 M + 16W can do work in 5 days. So, 12 M + 8 M can do work in 5 days. So, 20M can do work in 5 days. Now, 7M + 10W = 7M + 5M = 12 M Hence, if 20M can do work in 5 days, 12M can do work in (20*5)/12 = 8.33 days. ##### General Discussion Senior Manager Joined: 25 Jul 2004 Posts: 269 Re: If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and [#permalink] ### Show Tags 17 Aug 2004, 18:16 1 If you solve the two equations: 12M + 16W = 5 13M + 24W = 4 and then plug M and W into 7M + 10W = X, X should be the amount of days. Thats too much math for me, and the numbers don't look too clean either. GMAT Club Legend Joined: 15 Dec 2003 Posts: 4234 Re: If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and [#permalink] ### Show Tags 17 Aug 2004, 18:18 Wow, this is an insane problem. I wonder if someone can come up with a quick solution but it took me a long time to figure it out. Too much calculation. I came up with 1452/175 days or about 8.3 days. 1) M/12 + W/16 = 5 2) M/13 + W/24 = 4 Multiply second line by -3/2 to eliminate variable W: 2) -3M/26 - W/16 = -6 Add up line 1 and 2: M/12 - 3M/26 = 5 - 6 (-18 + 13)M/156 = -1 -5M = -156 M = 156/5 Now plug in second equation to get W: 156/65 + W/24 = 4 12/5 + W/24 = 20/5 W/24 = 8/5 W = 192/5 Plug in back to the question asked: M/7 + W/10 = X 156/(5*7) + 192/(5*10) = X 156/35 + 96/25 = X (672+780)/175 = X X = 1452/175 = approx 8.3 days Will certainly not be on the GMAT. _________________ Best Regards, Paul Manager Joined: 28 Jun 2004 Posts: 90 Re: If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and [#permalink] ### Show Tags 17 Aug 2004, 18:35 These are some the toughest problems that I have. I do have the solutions, but I am throwing them out in the hope that somebody can come up with a simpler solution as well as to challenge people. Intern Joined: 05 Dec 2013 Posts: 30 Concentration: Technology GMAT Date: 02-01-2014 GPA: 3.95 WE: Information Technology (Venture Capital) Re: If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and [#permalink] ### Show Tags Updated on: 16 Jan 2014, 13:36 3 2 Here is how I solved it: Create two equations based on the information given. Start from the basics. Each man can do 1/x work per day and each woman can to 1/y work per day. If we have 12 men and 16 women, then in total they can do 12/x work per day and 16/y work per day together. We also know that they can do the work together in 5 days. So in 1 day, how much of the job did they finish? 1/5 or 20%. Repeat this logic to create the second formula. 12/x + 16/y = 1/5 13/x + 24/y = 1/4 Solve for common denominators in each formula: 12y+16x=((xy)^2)/5 13y+24x=((xy)^2)/4 Multiply by denominator of fraction in each formula to get nice numbers. Since both would equal the same variable, make them equal to each other: 60y+80x=52y+96x 8y=16x y=2x Plug y=2x into the first equation to get: 12/x+16/2x=1/5 12/x+8/x=1/5 20/x=1/5 x=100 If x=100 and y=2x, y=200 Now in the original equation, it asks us how long 7 men and 10 women can do the work. We can create the following formula, similar to what we did in the first step. This formula tells us that in one day 7 men and 10 women can do X% of the job. We can simply take the reciprocal of the fraction to get the number of days the job will be completed in: 7/x+10/y=1/z (we want to solve for z) 7/100+10/200=1/z 7/100+5/100=1/z 12/100=1/z z=100/12 or 8.33 Originally posted by psal on 16 Jan 2014, 00:24. Last edited by psal on 16 Jan 2014, 13:36, edited 1 time in total. Math Expert Joined: 02 Sep 2009 Posts: 47903 Re: If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and [#permalink] ### Show Tags 16 Jan 2014, 03:57 smcgrath12 wrote: If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and 13 men and 24 women can do it in 4 days, how long will 7 men and 10 women take to do it? Similar questions to practice: it-takes-6-days-for-3-women-and-2-men-working-together-to-82718.html if-w-women-can-do-a-job-in-d-days-then-how-many-days-will-83771.html _________________ Intern Joined: 05 Mar 2014 Posts: 9 Schools: Ross '18 Re: If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and [#permalink] ### Show Tags 11 Mar 2014, 18:15 My answer is 8.33 days. Here is the way I`ve done: (1) - 12M (Men) + 16W (Woman) = 100 (The amount of work) in 5 days, or 20/day (2) - 13M + 24W = 100 in 4 days, or 25/day Now, to find M, You do: (1)*3 = 36M + 48W = 60/day (2)*-2 = -26M - 48W = -50/day Now You subtract one from the other: 10M = 10 => 1M = 1/day then, on (1), 12*1 + 16W = 20 16W = 8 => W = 1/2. Finally: 7M + 10W = 100 in: 7*1 + 10*(1/2) = 12. 100/12 = 8.33 SVP Status: The Best Or Nothing Joined: 27 Dec 2012 Posts: 1835 Location: India Concentration: General Management, Technology WE: Information Technology (Computer Software) Re: If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and [#permalink] ### Show Tags 13 Mar 2014, 19:59 8 1 Let a man do $$\frac{1}{x}$$ work per day and each woman do $$\frac{1}{y}$$ work per day $$\frac{12}{x} + \frac{16}{y} = \frac{1}{5}............$$(1) $$\frac{13}{x} +\frac{24}{y} = \frac{1}{4}$$ ............ (2) Multiply (1) by 3 & (2) by 2 $$\frac{36}{x} + \frac{48}{y} = \frac{3}{5}$$ ....... (3) $$\frac{26}{x} + \frac{48}{y} = \frac{1}{2}$$ ........ (4) Equation (3) - (4) $$\frac{10}{x} = \frac{1}{10}$$ x = 100 y = 200 We require to find z; substituting the values $$\frac{7}{x}+\frac{10}{y}= \frac{1}{z}$$ $$\frac{7}{100}+ \frac{10}{200} = \frac{1}{z}$$ $$\frac{7}{100}+ \frac{5}{100} = \frac{1}{z}$$ $$\frac{12}{100} = \frac{1}{z}$$ $$z = \frac{100}{12} = 8.33 = Answer$$ _________________ Kindly press "+1 Kudos" to appreciate Intern Joined: 11 Apr 2016 Posts: 48 Location: India Concentration: Marketing, Technology WE: Business Development (Computer Software) Re: If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and [#permalink] ### Show Tags 04 Jul 2016, 22:58 An easier way to do it with simple equations : Let rate of work for men be M and women be W The 2 equations we get are : 12M + 16W = 1/5 ..... (1) 13M + 24 W = 1/4......(2) Now notice 16W could be converted to 24W by multiplying it with 3/2. Hence multiply statement 1 by 3/2 18M + 24W = 3/10 13M + 24W = 1/4 Now subtract both equations and we get value of M = 1/100 Substitute value of M in equation 1 we get value of W = 1/200 Use M & W values to find value of 7 M + 10 W => 1 = (7/100 + 20/100) * T T = 200/24 = 8.3 days VP Joined: 07 Dec 2014 Posts: 1064 Re: If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and [#permalink] ### Show Tags 17 Jul 2016, 21:31 let d=number of days needed let m=rate of 1 man per 1 day w=rate of 1 woman per 1 day 5(12m+16w)=4(13m+24w) m=2w substituting, d(7m+5m)=5(12m+8m) d=8.3 days SVP Joined: 08 Jul 2010 Posts: 2132 Location: India GMAT: INSIGHT WE: Education (Education) Re: If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and [#permalink] ### Show Tags 29 Aug 2016, 10:22 smcgrath12 wrote: If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and 13 men and 24 women can do it in 4 days, how long will 7 men and 10 women take to do it? (A) 4.2 days (B) 6.8 days (C) 8.3 days (D) 9.8 days (E) 10.2 days Answer: Option C Please find solution as attached. Attachments File comment: www.GMATinsight.com Sol4.jpg [ 107.01 KiB | Viewed 101819 times ] _________________ Prosper!!! GMATinsight Bhoopendra Singh and Dr.Sushma Jha e-mail: info@GMATinsight.com I Call us : +91-9999687183 / 9891333772 Online One-on-One Skype based classes and Classroom Coaching in South and West Delhi http://www.GMATinsight.com/testimonials.html 22 ONLINE FREE (FULL LENGTH) GMAT CAT (PRACTICE TESTS) LINK COLLECTION Manager Joined: 17 Aug 2015 Posts: 102 Re: If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and [#permalink] ### Show Tags 29 Aug 2016, 11:27 If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and 13 men and 24 women can do it in 4 days, how long will 7 men and 10 women take to do it? (A) 4.2 days (B) 6.8 days (C) 8.3 days (D) 9.8 days (E) 10.2 days We can solve this using algebra but as others have noted doing this on GMAT may not be feasible. So I thought about an intuitive explanation and so forum members let me know if you concur. So we have 13 Men and 24 Women who together will finish the task in 4 days (per the prompt). Now if we reduce women and men by half. The task is going to take twice the time. We see that we reduce Men to 7 (reduce by slightly less than half 6/13) and Women to 10 (reduce by slightly more than half 14/24 = 7/12). So my time would have nearly doubled. 9.8 is next nearest to 8 , but that would imply that time required has become 2.5 times. 8.8 is a good guess using this reasoning and turns out to be the correct answer. Veritas Prep GMAT Instructor Joined: 16 Oct 2010 Posts: 8184 Location: Pune, India Re: If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and [#permalink] ### Show Tags 30 Aug 2016, 01:22 ajdse22 wrote: If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and 13 men and 24 women can do it in 4 days, how long will 7 men and 10 women take to do it? (A) 4.2 days (B) 6.8 days (C) 8.3 days (D) 9.8 days (E) 10.2 days We can solve this using algebra but as others have noted doing this on GMAT may not be feasible. So I thought about an intuitive explanation and so forum members let me know if you concur. So we have 13 Men and 24 Women who together will finish the task in 4 days (per the prompt). Now if we reduce women and men by half. The task is going to take twice the time. We see that we reduce Men to 7 (reduce by slightly less than half 6/13) and Women to 10 (reduce by slightly more than half 14/24 = 7/12). So my time would have nearly doubled. 9.8 is next nearest to 8 , but that would imply that time required has become 2.5 times. 8.8 is a good guess using this reasoning and turns out to be the correct answer. Nothing wrong with the solution but I would be a little uncomfortable making this approximation. If I know the approximate relation between that the rate of work of men and women, then perhaps I will have an easier time making these assumptions. _________________ Karishma Veritas Prep GMAT Instructor Save up to$1,000 on GMAT prep through 8/20! Learn more here >

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Re: If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and  [#permalink]

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05 Jun 2017, 18:18
smcgrath12 wrote:
If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and 13 men and 24 women can do it in 4 days, how long will 7 men and 10 women take to do it?

(A) 4.2 days
(B) 6.8 days
(C) 8.3 days
(D) 9.8 days
(E) 10.2 days

1. Let us take the same number of days in both the cases, say 20 days
2. In the first case 3 men and 4 women can do the work in 20 days and in the second case 2.6 men and 4.8 women can do the work in 20 days.
3. 0.8 more women does the work of 0.4 less men or 2 women does the work of 1 man.
4. We can find the number of days taken by 1 man and 1 woman as 100 and 200 days
5. So the time taken by 7 men and 10 women is 1/ (7/100+10/200)=8.3 days

Do not mind the decimals if you can reach the solution faster.
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Re: If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and  [#permalink]

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08 Jun 2017, 17:04
smcgrath12 wrote:
If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and 13 men and 24 women can do it in 4 days, how long will 7 men and 10 women take to do it?

(A) 4.2 days
(B) 6.8 days
(C) 8.3 days
(D) 9.8 days
(E) 10.2 days

We can let the time it takes 1 man to finish the work = m, and thus the rate of 1 man = 1/m. Likewise, we can let the time it takes 1 woman to finish the work = w, and thus the rate of 1 woman = 1/w.

Thus, the combined rate of 12 men and 16 women is 12/m + 16/w. Since they can finish the work in 5 days, their combined rate is also equal to 1/5. Thus, we have:

12/m + 16/w = 1/5

Multiplying both sides of the equation by 5mw, we have:

60w + 80m = mw

Similarly, the combined rate of 13 men and 24 women is 13/m + 24/w. Since they can finish the work in 4 days, their combined rate is also equal to 1/4. Thus, we have:

13/m + 24/w = 1/4

Multiplying both sides of the equation by 4mw, we have:

52w + 96m = mw

So, we have 60w + 80m = 52w + 96m (since they both equal mw).

60w + 80m = 52w + 96m

8w = 16m

w = 2m

We can now substitute w = 2m into the first equation, 12/m + 16/w = 1/5, to solve for m:

12/m + 16/(2m) = 1/5

12/m + 8/m = 1/5

20/m = 1/5

m = 100

Since m = 100 days, w = 200 days. The rate of 1 man is 1/100 and the rate of 1 woman is 1/200. Thus, the rate of 7 men and 10 women is 7/100 + 10/200 = 7/100 + 5/100 = 12/100, and the time for them to finish the same work is 1/(12/100) = 100/12 = 8.3 days.

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Re: If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and  [#permalink]

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25 Jun 2017, 11:36
smcgrath12 wrote:
If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and 13 men and 24 women can do it in 4 days, how long will 7 men and 10 women take to do it?

(A) 4.2 days
(B) 6.8 days
(C) 8.3 days
(D) 9.8 days
(E) 10.2 days

Refer to solution in the picture
Attachments

Solution Men at Work.jpeg [ 26.58 KiB | Viewed 92373 times ]

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Re: If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and  [#permalink]

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25 Jun 2017, 11:56
12m + 16w = 5d
So, 60md + 80wd, where md = man-days, wd = woman-days

13m + 24w = 4d
So, 52md + 96wd.

60md + 80wd = 52md + 96wd
8md = 16wd
1 md = 2 wd
Efficiency of 1 man = 2 woman

7m + 10w = 14w + 10w = 24w

13m + 24w = 4d
26w + 24w = 4d
50 women can do the work in 4 days, so 24 women can do it in 50*4/24 = 8.3 days. Ans - C.
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If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and  [#permalink]

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08 Jan 2018, 18:48
12m+16w=1/5
13m+24w=1/4

multiply equation 1 by 3/2 to get
18m+24w=3/10

now we subtract equation 2 from that equation to get 5m=1/20
so 1 man does 1/100 of the job per day. 12 men do 12/100 of the job per day.

From equation 1, 16w=1/5-12m=1/5-12/100=20/100-12/100=8/100. 16 women do 8/100 of the job per day. One woman would do (8/100)(1/16) of the job per day. So 1 woman does 1/200 of the job per day.

7 men do 7/100 of the job per day and 10 women do 10/200=5/100 of the job per day. So together they do 12/100 of the job per day.
The answer will be the reciprocal. 100/12=50/6=25/3=8.3333 hours
If 12 men and 16 women can do a piece of work in 5 days and &nbs [#permalink] 08 Jan 2018, 18:48

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