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Algebra 2: Topic 1: Work Problems
Algebra 2: Topic 1: Work Problems
Algebra 2: Topic 1: Work Problems
A work problem involves the relationship between the time needed to finish the work,
the rate of the worker, and the part of work done by a worker if he worked for a certain time.
1
Suppose that a person can do a painting job in 6 hours, then his rate of work is of the
6
1 1
job per hour. If he will work for 2 hours then he accomplished 2 = of the job. Thus,
6 3
we can say that,
1
Rate of work of a worker = ,
t
where t is the total time to finish the work.
For a certain job with 2 or more workers together are working, it is helpful to tabulate
data. For instance, worker A can do the job in 5 hours and worker B can do it in 4 hour,
then we tabulate: The rate of A is 1/5 and the rate of B is 1/4. Now let’s say A worked for 2
hours and B worked for 3 hours, then their part of work are 2/5 and 3/4, respectively.
To form the equation, we can sum up the part of work done of all workers and
that is equal to the total work done, expressed in equation as
The right side of the equation is equal to 1 if 1 whole work has completed, that is
On the other hand, if the question is the time ( x ) required for the two workers
together to finish the job, then our table has the following data below.
Time spent Part of work
Worker Rate
in working done
1 1 x
A x x
5 5 5
1 1 x
B x x
4 4 4
which says that, the summation of individual rates equal to the combined rate, or
Any of the equations ( 1 (, ( 2 ), and ( 3 ) above can be used to form the equation
for work problems.
Problem 1: One secretary can type a certain large report in 6 hours. A second secretary
can type the same report in 8 hours. How long would it take if they work together?
A. 3.43 hours C. 2.85 hours
B. 4.44 hours D. 4.16 hours
Solution:
Problem 2: The time required for 2 examinees to solve the same problem differs by 2
minutes. Together they can solve 32 problems in one hour. How long will it take for the
slower solver student to solve the problem?
A. 3 minutes C. 5 minutes
B. 4 minutes D. 6 minutes
Solution:
1 1
( 60 ) + ( 60 ) = 32
x x2
x = 5 minutes
Problem 3: A tank is filled with 2 pipes. The first pipe can fill the tank in 10 hours. After
the first pipe has been opened for 3 1/3 hours, the second pipe is opened and the tank is
filled up in 4 hours more. How long would it take the second pipe alone to fill the tank?
The pipes have different diameters.
A. 12 hours C. 16 hours
B. 15 hours D. 18 hours
Solution:
Let: x = time in hrs for the 2nd pipe to fill the tank alone
Rate of the 1st = 1/10
Rate of the 2nd = 1/x
Another type of work problem is one that involves the man – hour or man – days
unit of work. The equation is simply formed by
man hr man hr
work 1 work 2
Problem 4: Six men can excavate 10 m 3 of drainage open canal in 5 hours and 3 men can
backfill 8 m3 in 4 hours. How long will it take 8 men to excavate and backfill 15 m 3 in the
same project?
A. 7.12 hours C. 8.44 hours
B. 7.45 hours D. 8.86 hours
Solution:
6 men 5 hours 8 men x hours
Excavation:
10 m 3 15 m 3
x = 5.63 hours
Problem 4: A job can be done by 28 workers working for 60 days. Each worker is paid
P250. The contractor wanted to finish the job earlier so he hired additional 6 workers at the
start of the 16th day and 14 more at the start of the 46th day. If the daily wage of the
additional workers were P280, how much did the contractor pay for the salary of all workers
for the completion of the project?
A. 7.12 hours C. 8.44 hours
B. 7.45 hours D. 8.86 hours
Solution:
Salary:
28( 15 + 30 + 5 )( 250 ) = P 350,000
6( 30 + 5 )( 280 ) = 58,800
14( 5 )( 280 ) = 19,600
Total = P 428,400
This type of problem involves the relationship of coins and the total amount of
money of all the coins of that kind combined. The total amount of money of all the coins of
one kind is equal to the product of the number of coins and the amount of each coin. For
example if there are 15 10 – centavo coins then the total amount of them is 15( 0.10 )
which is equal to P 1.50.
Problem 1: Luni has P 3.05 in 5 – centavo and 10 – centavo coins. If there are 19 more
5 – centavo coins than 10 – centavo coins, how many coins of each kind does she have?
A. 33 – 5 centavos and 14 – 10 centavos
B. 24 – 5 centavos and 21 – 10 centavos
C. 30 – 5 centavos and 15 – 10 centavos
D. 28 – 5 centavos and 18 – 10 centavos
Solution:
Let: x = the number of 10 – centavos
x + 19 = the number of 5 – centavos
Problem 2: A men’s store bought 500 shirts consisting of 2 kinds; at PHP125 each and
the at PHP200 each. If the total cost of the shirts was PHP77,500, how many shirts were
purchased at PHP125 each?
A. 320 C. 280
B. 250 D. 300
Solution:
Investment Problems
I = Prt.
Problem 3: Mr. Richie Cruz divides P 10,000 into two investments. One part is invested at
10% and the remaining part is invested at 30%. Find how much is invested at 10% rate if
the two investments produce the same income annually.
A. P 7,500 C. P 8,000
B. P 7,800 D. P 8,200
Solution:
An arithmetic progression is a number series for which each term, except the first,
can be obtained by adding a constant to the preceding element. An arithmetic progression
is sometimes called an arithmetic sequence. The numbers below are in arithmetic
progression.
Formulas:
xy
For 2 numbers x and y: Am =
2
x1 x2 . . . xn
For a set of numbers x1, x2, . . ., xn: Am =
n
Example, in the above sequence, 11, 15, 19 are the arithmetic means between 7 and
23.
arithmetic means
S
n
a1 an or S
n
2a1 n 1 d
2 2
Solution:
an = am + ( n – m )d
a12 = a4 + ( 12 – 4 )d ----- - 21 = - 45 + 8d --- d = 3
an = am + ( n – m )d
a25 = a4 + ( 25 – 4 )d ------ a25 = - 45 + 21( 3 ) = 18
Solution:
3x – ( x + 1 ) = ( 4x + 2 ) – 3x
3x – x – 1 = 4x + 2 – 3x
x=3
Problem 3: A man piles 150 logs in layers so that the top layer contains 3 logs and each
lower layer has one more log than the layer above. How many logs are at the bottom?
A. 14 C. 16
B. 15 D. 17
Solution:
150
n
2(3) (n 1)(1)
2
n = 15
A geometric progression is a sequence for which each term, except the first, can
be obtained by multiplying a constant to the preceding term. A geometric sequence is
sometimes called a geometric sequence. The numbers below are in geometric
progression.
Formulas:
Example, in the above sequence, 6, 18, and 54 are the geometric means between 2
and 162.
geometic means
S
a1 r n 1
if r > 1 and S
a1 1 r n if r < 1
r 1 1 r
Problem 1: There are 4 geometric means between 7 and 1,701. Find the sum of all the
terms.
A. 2,386 C. 2,548
B. 2,428 D. 2,642
Solution:
S
7 1 36
1 3
S = 2,548
Problem 2: The 6th term of a geometric progression is 8 times the 3rd term and the sum of
the 8th and 9th term is 1,920. Find the 15th term.
A. 2,386 C. 2,548
B. 2,428 D. 2,642
Solution:
Problem 3: In an organization, the members agreed that whenever they hold a meeting,
the first one to come in late will fine P 5, and each later arrival will fine twice as much as
what the preceding man paid. During a meeting a total fine of P 2,555 was collected. How
many members came late during that meeting?
A. 8 C. 10
B. 9 D. 12
Solution:
5, 10, 20,40 … GP ----- r = 2, S= 2,555
S
a1 r n 1
r 1
2,555
5 2n 1
2 1
2,555 = 5( 2n – 1 )
511 = 2n – 1
512 = 2n
ln512 = nln2
n=9
If r < 1, say 1/2, ¾, 0.7, etc., the sum is computed using the formula
a1
S .
1 r
Problem 4: The path of each swing, after the first, of a pendulum bob is 0.95 as long as
the path of the previous swing from one side to the other side. If the path of the first swing
is 32 cm long, and air resistance eventually brings the pendulum to rest, how far does the
bob travel before it come to rest?
A. 560 C. 600
B. 580 D. 640
Solution:
a1 = 32 and r = 0.95
a1
S
1 r
32
S
32 a1 1 0.95
S = 640
32( 0.95 ) = 30.4 a2
Problem 5: A ball is dropped from a height of 12 ft, and each time it strikes the ground it
rebounds to a height of three – fourths of the distance from which it fell. Find the total
distance travelled by the ball before it comes to rest?
A. 84 ft C. 90 ft
B. 88 ft D. 96 ft
Solution:
12
h1 h2 h3
a1
S
1 r
12
S
1 3 / 4
S = 48.
1 1 1 1
, , , are in harmonic progression,
8 6 4 2
The nth term of a harmonic progression is obtained by obtaining the nth term of
their reciprocals using arithmetic progression.
Problem 1: The 4th term of a harmonic progression is 1/15 and the 8th term is 1/31. Find
the first term.
A. 84 ft C. 90 ft
B. 88 ft D. 96 ft
Solution:
a8 = a4 + ( 8 – 4 )d
31 = 15 + 4d
4d = 16
d = 4.
Problem 2: The arithmetic mean of two numbers is A and their geometric mean is B. Find
their harmonic mean.
A. AB C. B2/A
B. A/B2 D. A2B
Solution:
xy
Let x and y be the two numbers. Then A m ------------ ( 1 )
2
and xy Gm
or xy = Gm2. ---------- ( 2 )
1 1 1
Consider the H.P.----- x, Hm, y, for which , , form an A.P.
x Hm y
1
1
x
1
y
Hm 2
yx
1 xy
Hm 2
xy
1
2
--------- ( 3 )
Hm xy
Substitute ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) to ( 3 ):
1 A
m
Hm Gm 2
AmHm = Gm2
AHm = B2
B2
Hm =
A
For other types of series, the nth term and the sum can be obtained by studying
the pattern of terms and verifying by giving values which satisfy the series.
1 1 1
Problem 1: Find the 8th term of the series 1, 1, , , ,....
2 6 24
A. 1/720 C. 1/5,040
B. 1/548 D. 1/6,080
Solution:
1
The nth term of the series is .
( n 1)!
1
Checking: n = 1 --------1st term = =1
( 1 1)!
1
n = 2 ---------2nd term = =1
( 2 1)!
1 1
n = 3 ----------3rd term = =
( 3 1)! 2
1 1
n = 4-----------4th term = =
( 4 1)! 6
1 1
Therefore the 8th term is = .
( 8 1)! 5,040
Problem 2: Find the 10th term of the series 4, 10, 18, 28, . . . .
A. 130 C. 132
B. 124 D. 140
Solution:
4 10 18 28 40 54 70 88 108 130
+6 +8 +10 +12 +14 +16 +18 +20 +22
Solution:
n
Problem 4: The sum of the n terms of a series is . Find the 8th term.
6n 4
A. 1/480 C. 1/598
B. 1/920 D. 1/720
Solution:
As illustrated, the 8th term is the difference between the sum of the 8 terms ( S8 ) and
the sum of the 7 terms ( S7 ).
S7
a8 = S8 – S7
8 7
a8 = -
6( 8 ) 4 6( 7 ) 4
1
a8 =
598
This is about the properties of the expansion of the binomial in the form ( u + v )n.
Expansion of ( u + v )n:
( u + v )0 = 1
( u + v )1 = u + v
( u + v )2 = u2 + 2uv + v2
( u + v )3 = u3 + 3u2v + 3uv2 + v3
( u + v )4 = u4 + 4u3v + 6u2 v2 + 4uv3 + v4
( u + v )5 = u5 + 5u4v + 10u3v2 + 10u2v3 + 5uv4 + v5
There is an interesting pattern for the coefficients in the binomial expansion. It can be
written in the following triangular arrangement called Pascal’s Triangle in honor of Blaise
Pascal.
1 ------------------------- ( u + v )0
1 1 --------------------- ( u + v )1
1 2 1 ------------------ ( u + v )2
1 3 3 1 -------------- ( u + v )3
1 4 6 4 1 ----------- ( u + v )4
1 5 10 10 5 1 ------ ( u + v )5
1 6 15 20 15 6 1 -- ( u + v )6
2. The first term of the expansion is un and the last term is vn.
3. The exponent of u decreases from n to zero while that of v increases from zero to n.
5. The coefficients of the terms equidistant from the extremes are equal.
Using the above properties and the Pascal’s Triangle, we can determine the terms in
the binomial expansion of ( u + v )n for any positive integer n.
Solution:
or simplifying we obtain
( 2x + 3y2 )4 = 16x4 + 96x3y2 + 216x2y4 + 216xy6 + 81y8
Any specific term in the expansion is obtained by using the formula below.
For ( x + y )n ------------ S = ( 1 + 1 )n
For ( x + k )n ------------ S = ( 1 + k )n – kn
n n 1 a b
S=
2
Solution:
u = 2x, v = 3y2, n = 4 and r = 3
Solution:
Since n = 10, the number of terms in the expansion is 11, thus the middle term is the
6th term.
u = 2x3, v = – 1 y2, n = 10 and r = 6.
3
Solution:
Using the formula for the rth term, where u = 2z, v = –3z–1, and n = 9. Consider the
literal part only and neglecting the coefficients, that is
un – r + 1 v r – 1 = z5
9–r+1
(z) ( z– 1 )r – 1 = z5
( z )10 – r ( z )1 – r = z5
z11 – 2r = z5
Equating coefficients, we have, 11 – 2r = 5
r = 3.
Thus the term containing z5 is the 3rd term. Solving for the 3rd term, we have
Problem 4: Find the sum of the coefficients of all the terms in the expansion of ( 2x + y )12.
A. 436,860 C. 5 23,452
B. 531,441 D. 441,472
Solution:
Sum = ( 2 + 1 )12
Sum = 531,441
Problem 5: Find the sum of all the exponents of all the terms in the expansion of
( x2 + 2y3 )5.
A. 36 C. 75
B. 44 D. 64
Solution:
n n 1 a b
S=
2
5 5 1 2 3
S=
2
S = 75