Peter can paint a room in 5 hours, paul can paint a room in 6 hours, neil can paint a room in 7 1/2 hours and mary can paint a room in 3 3/4 hours.
which two painters above can team up to paint a whole room in 3 hours?
write and solve a rational equation that shows you are correct. show your work.

Peter and Neil

Step-by-step explanation:

Given rates of work:

Peter = 5 hours / room

Paul = 6 hours / room

Neil = 7.5 hours / room

Mary = 3.75 hours / room

Recall the formula for combined rate for two individuals A & B is given as

Combined rate = (A's rate x B's rate) / (A's rate + B's rate)

In our case , the combined rate is given to be 3 hours, so we must find a combination of rate A and rate B that will give us 3 hours.

If you try all the combinations in the above formula, we will find that if we substitute Peter's and Neil's rates into the formula, we will get exactly 3 hours.

Combined rate for Peter and Neil

= (Peter's rate x Neil's rate) / (Peter's rate + Neil's rate)

= (5 x 7.5) / (5+7.5) = 3 hours to complete 1 room

No other combination gives exactly 3 hours.

answer: the correct one is a

step-by-step explanation:

5/12, or 5: 12

step-by-step explanation: