Applying Rational Equations

 
Learning Objective(s)
         Solve real world problems using rational functions.
 
Introduction
 
Rational expressions and rational equations can be useful tools for representing real life
situations and for finding answers to real problems. In particular, they are quite good for
describing distance-speed-time questions, and modeling multi-person work problems.
 
Solving Work Problems
 
Work problems often ask us to calculate how long it will take different people working at different
speeds to finish a task.  The algebraic models of such situations often involve rational equations
derived from the work formula, W = rt.  The amount of work done (W) is the product of the rate
of work (r) and the time spent working (t). The work formula has 3 versions:
 

 
Some work problems have multiple machines or people working on a project together for the
same amount of time but at different rates. In that case, we can add their individual work rates
together to get a total work rate. Let’s look at an example:
 
Example
Problem Myra takes 2 hours to plant 500 flower bulbs. Francis    
takes 3 hours to plant 450 flower bulbs.  Working
together, how long should it take them to plant 1500
bulbs?
  Myra: 500 bulbs/2 hours =   Think about how many bulbs
250 bulbs/hour each person can plant in one
  hour. This is their planting
Francis: 450 bulbs/3 hours = rate.
150 bulbs/hour  
  Myra & Francis together:   Combine their hourly rates to
250 + 150 bulbs/hour = 400 determine the rate they work
bulbs/hour together.
 
    Use one of the work formulas
to write a rational equation,
  
for example  . We
know r, the combined work
rate, and we know W, the
amount of work that must be
done. What we don't know is
how much time it will take to
do the required work at the
designated rate.
 
    Solve the equation by
multiplying both sides by the
common denominator, then
 
isolating t.
 

 
t = 3 ¾ hours
 
Answer It takes 3 hours 45 minutes for Myra and Francis to plant 1500
bulbs together.
 
 
Other work problems go the other way. We'll calculate how long it will take one person to do a
job alone when we know how long it takes a group to get it done:

 
Example
Problem Jamie, Pria and Paul can paint a room together in 2  
hours. If Pria does the job alone she can paint the
room in 5 hours. If Paul works alone, he can paint the
room in 6 hours. If Jamie works alone, how long would
it take her to paint the room?
  Determine the hourly rates for each
person and for the whole group
Pria + Paul + Jamie =    room/ hour
 
using the formula  .
 
Pria =  room/hour Work is painting 1 room, so W = 1.
   
We don’t know how long Jamie will
Paul =   room/hour take, so we need to keep the
  variable t.
 Jamie =    room/hour
    Write an equation to show that the
  sum of their individual rates equals
the group rate.
 
(Think of it this way: Pria works for

one hour and paints   of the room.

Paul works for an hour and

paints   of the room. Jamie works

for an hour and paints   of the

room. Together they have painted
half the room in one hour.
    Solve the rational equation.
   
  First find the least common
  denominator of the individual rates.
  It is 5 • 6 • t = 30t.
   
Then multiply each term on the left
by a fractional form of 1 so that all
  rates have the same denominator
  and can be added. (Note: we could
also have found the common
denominator of the entire equation,
  which is also 30t,  and multiplied
both sides by it.)

 
  Now multiply both sides of the
equation by the common
denominator, then simplify.
 

11t  + 30 = 
 
11t  + 30 =15t
 
11t  - 11t + 30 = 15t – 11t
 
30 = 4t
 
 7.5 = t
 

Answer It would take Jamie 7.5 hours to paint the room by herself.
 
 
Tanya and Cam can each wash a car and vacuum its interior in 2 hours. Pat needs 3
hours to do this same job by himself. If Pat, Cam and Tanya work together, how long will
it take them to clean a car?
 
A) 40 minutes
B) 45 minutes
C) 1.2 hours
D) 1 hour
 
Show/Hide Answer
 
 
Sometimes work problems describe rates in a relative way: someone works 3 times as fast as
someone else or a machine takes 2 fewer hours to finish a job than another model of machine.
In these instances, we express one rate using information about another rate. Let’s look at an
example:
 
Example
Problem One pipe can fill a pool 1.5 times faster than a second  
pipe. If both pipes are open, the pool can be filled in 6
hours. If only the slower pipe is open, how long would it
take to fill the pool?
    Find the rates of each pipe
alone and the two working
together.
 
 
Work = 1 pool filled
fast pipe =   
  Hours needed for fast pipe to
fill pool: p
Hours needed for slow pipe
slow pipe =  to fill pool alone: 1.5 p
  Hours needed for both pipes
together: 6
 
fast pipe + slow pipe = 
      Write an equation that shows
that the amount of work
completed by both pipes in
one hour is equal to the sum
of the work of each pipe.
      Solve for p. One way to do
 this is to rewrite the rational
expressions using a common
denominator.
   
Common denominator
of p, 1.5p and 6 is 6p.
   
6 + 4 = p
 
p =10 hours
  10 • 1.5 = 15 hours   Slow pipe takes 1.5p hours
to do the work alone.
Answer      
The slower pipe will take 15 hours to fill the pool alone.
 
 
Summary
Rational equations can be used to solve a variety of problems that involve rates, times and
work. Using rational expressions and equations can help us answer questions about how to
combine workers or machines to complete a job on schedule.