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Sub 505 (Easy)|   Work and Rate Problems|                              
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Pumping alone at their respective constant rates, one inlet pipe fills an empty tank to 1/2 of capacity in 3 hours and a second inlet pipe fills the same empty tank to 2/3 of capacity in 6 hours. How many hours will it take both pipes, pumping simultaneously at their respective constant rates, to fill the empty tank to capacity?
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Let r1 be the rate at which the first inlet pipe fills the tank, and let r2 be the rate at which the second inlet pipe fills the tank. Then we can set up the following system of equations:

r1 * 3 = 1/2 (since the first inlet pipe fills the tank to half capacity in 3 hours)
r2 * 6 = 2/3 (since the second inlet pipe fills the tank to two-thirds capacity in 6 hours)
(r1 + r2) * t = 1 (since both pipes, pumping simultaneously at their respective constant rates, fill the tank to capacity in t hours)
Solving the first equation for r1 and the second equation for r2 gives:

r1 = 1/6
r2 = 1/9
Substituting these values into the third equation gives:

(1/6 + 1/9) * t = 1
Simplifying gives:
5/18 * t = 1
t = 18/5
t = 3.6 hours
Therefore, it will take both pipes, pumping simultaneously at their respective constant rates, 3.6 hours to fill the empty tank to capacity. The answer is (B).
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