Unit 8 · Rates and Ratios

Same Speed, Half the Time — When Do They Finish?

Lesson 7 of 7

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Romesh takes 40 minutes to chop the vegetables alone. Lucinda also takes 40 minutes alone. Working together on Saturday, starting at 8:35 am — when do they finish? The key insight: when two workers have the same individual time, together they take exactly half that time. 40 ÷ 2 = 20 minutes → finish at 8:55 am.

Chapters

0:00Introduction
0:21The Question
1:15Calculating Romesh's Total Time
1:48Calculating Lucinda's Total Time
2:15Calculating the Collaborative Work Time
2:41Solving for the Final Finish Time
3:06Exam Strategy — The Identical Rate Shortcut
3:49Confirming the Final Option

Question

In a restaurant, the same amount of vegetables need to be chopped every day.

Romesh chops the vegetables on a Thursday. If he starts at 8:45 am and works as quickly as he can, he finishes at 9:25 am.

Lucinda chops the vegetables on a Friday. If she starts at 8:25 am and works as quickly as she can, she finishes at 9:05 am.

They both chop the vegetables on a Saturday. If they start at 8:35 am and work as quickly as they can, what time will they finish?

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