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printing company word problem

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printing company word problem

by datonman » Fri Sep 25, 2015 5:39 pm
In a printing company, if one machine can print 600 copies in 12 hours, how long would it take to print 1,200 copies with three identical machines working together?

A.4
B.8
C.12
D.18
E.24

Do i solve it this way? 600 = 12, so 1,200(3) which is 3,600, or if I'm not even close to solving it that way, can it be by?

1/600 = x/1200, etc? I'm asking for the approach, the method rather.
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by adthedaddy » Fri Sep 25, 2015 8:43 pm
Hi datonman,

I would take the following approach to solve this.

If one machine takes 12 hrs to print 600 copies then in 1 hr it prints 50 copies.
Now, one machine takes one hour to print 50 copies, then 3 machines will print 3x50=150 copies in one hour.

Using simple arithmetic rules,
If 150 copies are printed in one hour by 3 machines, then for 1200 copies the time taken is 1200/150 = 8hrs

So Ans should be B
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by [email protected] » Sat Sep 26, 2015 9:20 am
Hi datonman,

This is essentially a 'rate' question; if you can determine the constant rate, then the rest of the math is basic arithmetic. However, this question can also be viewed as a 'ratio' question...

We know that 1 machine takes 12 hours to make 600 copies. We're asked...

How long will 3 machines take (in hours) to make 1200 copies?

Looking at the numbers involved, we're DOUBLING the number of copies, but we're TRIPLING the number of workers. If we multiply the total time by that ratio (2/3), we'll get the answer...

(12 hours)(2/3) = 8 hours

Final Answer: B

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