20 minutes is 1/3 of an hour. In an hour, Laura would paint
3 * 1/x = 3/x;
Joseph, then, would have painted the rest:
1 - 3/x, or (x-3)/x.
So in 20 minutes Joe would do
(x-3)/3x.

Good one haas and brain... i was stuck on how to start this one out but you guys are right on the nose..


C.

3(1/x) +3(1/y) = 1

(1/y) = 1/3 - 1/x

1/y = (x-3)/3x

3-C

Laura can paint 1/x of room in 20 mins
Hence in 1 min she can paint 1/20x of room

Let Joseph paints 1/J of the room in 1 min

Hence
1/20x + 1/J = 1/60
1/J = x-3/60x
Hence J= 60x/x-3

Therefore in 60x/x-3 mins joseph paints 1 room
in 20 mins he can paint = 20 * (x-3) / 60x = (x-3)/3x of the room

The Question is a good candidate for plugin...Here is how I would approach

Let us assume value of x for laura to be 12 so we have that laura does 1/12th of room in 20 minutes or to paint one complete laura takes 240 minutes

Let Joseph take y minutes to paint 1 room so we have
Also given that
1/240 +1/y = 1/60 ----> Solve for y and we get y =240/3 or 80 minutes.
(Here we should choose the value of x in such a way that 1/y = \((1/60- 1/x)\geq{0}\) so that y is not negative.


So Joseph paints 1 room in 80 minutes so in 20 minutes, he will paint 1/4th of the room.

Plug in value of x in the above options and we get answer C.
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Options with variables are often done by plugging in numbers.
Both working together can paint the room in 1 hr so if their individual rates were equal, each would take 2 hours alone.
2 hours is 120 mins so in 20 mins each would complete 120/20 = 1/6th of the room alone.
So if x = 6 (Laura completes 1/6th of the room in 20 mins), the correct option will give 1/6. (Joseph will also paint 1/6th of the room if their rates are same)
If you put x = 6 in the options, only option (C) will give 1/6

Answer (C)
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Together they paint 1 room in 60 min. So in 20 min they paint (1/3) room. Out of this Laura painted (1/x) room, so Joseph must have painted (1/3) - (1/x) room => (x – 3)/(3x) room

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