How long will it take Princess to finish the paper if she works by herself? Marie, Princess and Sarah have to complete a term paper on the life of the great Mathematician Blaise Pascal. If they work together they can finish the paper in 1 week. If only Sarah and Marie work, they need 10 days to complete the report.

Expert Answers

An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

Marie, Princess and Sarah have to complete a term paper on the life of the great Mathematician Blaise Pascal. If they work together they can finish the paper in 1 week. If only Sarah and Marie work, they need 10 days to complete the report.

The time taken by Princess to complete the paper on her own has to be determined. Let it be P.

As all the three finish the paper in 7 days, they complete `1/7` of the paper per day. Sarah and Marie complete `1/10` of the paper per day. The rate at which Princess completes the paper is `1/P` . Also `1/P + 1/10 = 1/7`

`1/P = 1/7 - 1/10 = 3/70`

=> P = `70/3`

Princess would take `70/3` days to complete the paper on her own.

See eNotes Ad-Free

Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts.

Get 48 Hours Free Access
Approved by eNotes Editorial Team