It takes 3 employees

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BTGmoderatorDC: Moderator; Posts: 7187; Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2017 4:43 pmFollowed by: 23 members

by BTGmoderatorDC » Sun Nov 12, 2017 2:30 am

It takes 3 employees, who all work at the same rate, 5 hours to complete the typing of a 500 page document. How long would it take 6 similar employees to complete a document with 750 pages?

A. 1.25
B. 2.5
C. 3.75
D. 5.5
E. 7.5

How will i formulate the right equation in this problem?

OA C

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Problem Solving | Sun Nov 12, 2017 2:30 am

EconomistGMATTutor: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 555; Joined: Wed Oct 04, 2017 4:18 pmFollowed by: 12 members; Thanked: 180 times

Answer

by EconomistGMATTutor » Sun Nov 12, 2017 8:53 am

Hello lheiannie07.

Let's take a look at this PS question.

3 employees complete 500 pages in 5 hours. So, they complete 100 pages per hour.

So, 6 employees, who work all at the same rate as before, can complete:

- 200 pages per hour.
- 100 pages in 30 minutes (0.5 hours).
- 50 pages in 15 minutes (0.25 hours).

No, we can split 750 pages as 600 pages + 100 pages + 50 pages.

So, the 6 employees can complete 750 pages in 3 hours + 0.5 hours + 0.25 hours = 3.75 hours.

So, the correct answer is C .

I hope this can help you.

I'm available if you'd like a follow up.

Regards.

GMAT Prep From The Economist
We offer 70+ point score improvement money back guarantee.
Our average student improves 98 points.

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Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16207; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pmFollowed by: 1268 members; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; GMAT Score:770

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Mon Nov 13, 2017 2:00 pm

lheiannie07 wrote:It takes 3 employees, who all work at the same rate, 5 hours to complete the typing of a 500 page document. How long would it take 6 similar employees to complete a document with 750 pages?

A. 1.25
B. 2.5
C. 3.75
D. 5.5
E. 7.5

We can solve this question by using some logic.

It takes 3 employees, who all work at the same rate, 5 hours to complete the typing of a 500 page document
So, a 3-person team takes 5 hours to type 500 pages.
What if we increase the job by 50% and make it 750 pages?
Well, it will take 50% longer to complete that job.
That is, a 3-person team will take 7.5 hours to type 750 pages.
What happens if we double the size of the team and make it a 6-person team?
Well, doubling the size of the team, will cut the work time in HALF.
That is, a 6-person team will take 3.75 hours to type 750 pages.

Answer: C
Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

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[email protected]: Elite Legendary Member; Posts: 10392; Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:38 pmFollowed by: 511 members; Location: Palo Alto, CA; Thanked: 2867 times; GMAT Score:800

by [email protected] » Wed Nov 15, 2017 4:44 pm

Hi lheiannie07,

We're told that it takes 3 employees, who all work at the same rate, 5 hours to complete the typing of a 500 page document. We're asked how long it would take 6 similar employees to complete a document that is 750 pages. The answer choices are 'spread out enough' that you can actually answer this question without doing too much math - you just need a little logic and a couple of 'comparisons.'

IF.... we were just doubling the number of employees, then the original job would take HALF of the time (2.5 hours instead of the original 5 hours). We're not doing the original job though - we're doing MORE work - so the time needed has to be GREATER than 2.5 hours.

Since we're doubling the number of employees, but we're NOT doubling the number of pages (that number is only increased by 50%), we know that the total amount of time would have to be LESS than 5 hours.

There's only one answer that falls in that range....

Final Answer: C

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Contact Rich at [email protected]

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Scott@TargetTestPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 8137; Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:56 amFollowed by: 29 members; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 43 times

by Scott@TargetTestPrep » Wed Dec 13, 2017 3:41 pm

lheiannie07 wrote:It takes 3 employees, who all work at the same rate, 5 hours to complete the typing of a 500 page document. How long would it take 6 similar employees to complete a document with 750 pages?

A. 1.25
B. 2.5
C. 3.75
D. 5.5
E. 7.5

We are given that 3 employees, who all work at the same rate, can type 500 pages in 5 hours.

So, the rate of the 3 employees is 500/5 = 100 pages per hour. Let's use a proportion to determine x, the rate of the 6 employees.

3/100 = 6/x

3x = 600

x = 200

Since time = work/rate, it takes 6 workers 750/200 = 3.75 hours to complete 750 pages.

Answer: C

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder and CEO
[email protected]

See why Target Test Prep is rated 5 out of 5 stars on BEAT the GMAT. Read our reviews

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BTGmoderatorDC: Moderator; Posts: 7187; Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2017 4:43 pmFollowed by: 23 members

by BTGmoderatorDC » Wed Jan 10, 2018 9:25 pm

[email protected] wrote:Hi lheiannie07,

We're told that it takes 3 employees, who all work at the same rate, 5 hours to complete the typing of a 500 page document. We're asked how long it would take 6 similar employees to complete a document that is 750 pages. The answer choices are 'spread out enough' that you can actually answer this question without doing too much math - you just need a little logic and a couple of 'comparisons.'

IF.... we were just doubling the number of employees, then the original job would take HALF of the time (2.5 hours instead of the original 5 hours). We're not doing the original job though - we're doing MORE work - so the time needed has to be GREATER than 2.5 hours.

Since we're doubling the number of employees, but we're NOT doubling the number of pages (that number is only increased by 50%), we know that the total amount of time would have to be LESS than 5 hours.

There's only one answer that falls in that range....

Final Answer: C

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Thanks a lot!

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BTGmoderatorDC: Moderator; Posts: 7187; Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2017 4:43 pmFollowed by: 23 members

by BTGmoderatorDC » Wed Jan 10, 2018 9:25 pm

Scott@TargetTestPrep wrote:
lheiannie07 wrote:It takes 3 employees, who all work at the same rate, 5 hours to complete the typing of a 500 page document. How long would it take 6 similar employees to complete a document with 750 pages?

A. 1.25
B. 2.5
C. 3.75
D. 5.5
E. 7.5

We are given that 3 employees, who all work at the same rate, can type 500 pages in 5 hours.

So, the rate of the 3 employees is 500/5 = 100 pages per hour. Let's use a proportion to determine x, the rate of the 6 employees.

3/100 = 6/x

3x = 600

x = 200

Since time = work/rate, it takes 6 workers 750/200 = 3.75 hours to complete 750 pages.

Answer: C

Thanks a lot!

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