Difference between revisions of "1966 AHSME Problems/Problem 37"

(Solution 2)
(Solution 2)
Line 12: Line 12:
 
<cmath>\frac{1}{A}+\frac{1}{B}+\frac{1}{C}=\frac{1}{A-6}</cmath>
 
<cmath>\frac{1}{A}+\frac{1}{B}+\frac{1}{C}=\frac{1}{A-6}</cmath>
 
<cmath>\frac{1}{A}+\frac{1}{B}+\frac{1}{C}=\frac{1}{B-1}</cmath>
 
<cmath>\frac{1}{A}+\frac{1}{B}+\frac{1}{C}=\frac{1}{B-1}</cmath>
<cmath>\frac{1}{A}+\frac{1}{B}+\frac{1}{C}=\frac{2}{C}</cmath>
+
<cmath>\frac{1}{A}+\frac{1}{B}+\frac{1}{C}=\frac{2}{C}\Longarrowright \frac{1}{A}+\frac{1}{B}=\frac{1}{C}</cmath>
 +
Substituting the third equation into the first equation yields
 +
<cmath>\frac{2}{A}+\frac{2}{B}=\frac{1}{A-6}</cmath>
  
 
== See also ==
 
== See also ==

Revision as of 21:36, 23 December 2019

Problem

Three men, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, working together, do a job in 6 hours less time than Alpha alone, in 1 hour less time than Beta alone, and in one-half the time needed by Gamma when working alone. Let $h$ be the number of hours needed by Alpha and Beta, working together, to do the job. Then $h$ equals:

$\text{(A) } \frac{5}{2} \quad \text{(B) } \frac{3}{2} \quad \text{(C) } \frac{4}{3} \quad \text{(D) } \frac{5}{4} \quad \text{(E) } \frac{3}{4}$

Solution

$\fbox{C}$

Solution 2

Let $A$,$B$,$C$ denote the number of hours needed by Alpha, Beta, Gamma, respectively. We also have their respective efficiency $\frac{1}{A}$, $\frac{1}{B}$, and $\frac{1}{C}$. Thus we get the equations \[\frac{1}{A}+\frac{1}{B}+\frac{1}{C}=\frac{1}{A-6}\] \[\frac{1}{A}+\frac{1}{B}+\frac{1}{C}=\frac{1}{B-1}\]

\[\frac{1}{A}+\frac{1}{B}+\frac{1}{C}=\frac{2}{C}\Longarrowright \frac{1}{A}+\frac{1}{B}=\frac{1}{C}\] (Error compiling LaTeX. Unknown error_msg)

Substituting the third equation into the first equation yields \[\frac{2}{A}+\frac{2}{B}=\frac{1}{A-6}\]

See also

1966 AHSME (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 36
Followed by
Problem 38
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
All AHSME Problems and Solutions

The problems on this page are copyrighted by the Mathematical Association of America's American Mathematics Competitions. AMC logo.png