We create variables to represent the rates of work per day for each man and each woman.
\(M = \text{rate of one man (jobs per day)}\)
\(W = \text{rate of one woman (jobs per day)}\)
From
"Six men and one woman can complete a job in 2 days", we translate the combined rate equation.
\(6M + W = \frac{1}{2}\)
From
"Three men and eight women can complete the same job in 1 day", we translate the combined rate equation.
\(3M + 8W = 1\)
We isolate \(W\) in the first equation by subtracting \(6M\) from both sides.
\(W = \frac{1}{2} - 6M\)
We substitute the expression for \(W\) into the second equation.
\(3M + 8(\frac{1}{2} - 6M) = 1\)
We expand and combine like terms on the left side to simplify the equation.
\(3M + 8(\frac{1}{2} - 6M) = 1\)
\(3M + 4 - 48M = 1\)
We isolate the term with \(M\) by subtracting \(4\) from both sides.
\(3M + 4 - 48M - 4 = 1 - 4\)
\(-45M = -3\)
We solve for \(M\) by dividing both sides by \(-45\).
\(\frac{-45M}{-45} = \frac{-3}{-45}\)
\(M = \frac{1}{15}\)
We substitute \(M = \frac{1}{15}\) back into the expression for \(W\).
\(W = \frac{1}{2} - 6(\frac{1}{15})\)
We simplify the fraction \(\frac{6}{15}\) by canceling common factors.
\(\frac{6}{15} = \frac{3\times2}{3\times5} = \frac{2}{5}\)
We subtract the fractions \(\frac{1}{2} - \frac{2}{5}\) by finding a common denominator.
\(\frac{1}{2} - \frac{2}{5} = \frac{5}{10} - \frac{4}{10} = \frac{1}{10}\)
We find the combined rate of one man and one woman working together.
\(M + W = \frac{1}{15} + \frac{1}{10}\)
We simplify the sum of fractions to find the combined rate.
\(\frac{1}{15} + \frac{1}{10} = \frac{2}{30} + \frac{3}{30} = \frac{5}{30} = \frac{1}{6}\)
We calculate the time to complete one job by taking the reciprocal of the combined rate.
\(T = \frac{1}{M + W} = \frac{1}{\frac{1}{6}} = 6\)
Answer C
Hope this helps!
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