TEAS Practice Test Math Related

Review TEAS Practice Test Math related questions and content

A homeowner has hired two people to mow his lawn. If person A is able to mow the lawn in 2 hours by herself and person B is able to mow the lawn in 3 hours by himself, what is the amount of time it would take for both person A and B to mow the lawn together?

  • A. 5 hours
  • B. 2.5 hours
  • C. 1.2 hours
  • D. 1 hour
Correct Answer: C

Rationale: To find the combined work rate, you add the individual work rates: 1/2 + 1/3 = 5/6. This means that together, they can mow 5/6 of the lawn per hour. To determine how long it would take for both A and B to mow the entire lawn, you take the reciprocal of 5/6, which gives you 6/5 or 1.2 hours. Therefore, it would take 1.2 hours for person A and person B to mow the lawn together. Choice A (5 hours) is incorrect because it does not consider the combined efficiency of both workers. Choice B (2.5 hours) is incorrect as it does not reflect the correct calculation based on the combined work rates of the two individuals. Choice D (1 hour) is incorrect as it doesn't consider the fact that the combined rate is less than the individual rate of person A alone, thus taking longer than 1 hour.