sandy wrote:
Three factory employees work at constant rates to produce DVDs. Employee A produces y DVDs in \(\frac{2}{5}\) of an hour. Employee B produces y DVDs in \(\frac{3}{5}\) of an hour. Employee C produces y DVDs in \(\frac{5}{4}\) of an hour. Which of the following combinations of employees can produce at least 5y DVDs in 2 hours?
Indicate all such statements.A. Employee A alone
B. Employee B alone
C. Employee C alone
D. Employees A and B together
E. Employees B and C together
F. Employees A, B, and C together
G. Even if all three employees work together, they will not finish the job
Drill 4
Question: 8
Page: 532
Output summary for each employee Employee A produces y DVDs in 24
minutesEmployee B produces y DVDs in 36
minutesEmployee C produces y DVDs in 75
minutesWe want to determine which combination of employees can produce at least 5y DVDs in
120 minutesA. Employee A alone120/24 = 5
So there are 5 24-minute periods in 120 minutes
Since employee A produces y DVDs during every 24-minute period, we know that employee A can produce 5y DVDs in 120 minutes.
Answer choice A works. Important: Employee A produces EXACTLY 5y DVDs in 120 minutes.
Since employee A is the fastest worker, we know that employees B and C will not be able to produce 5y DVDs in 120 minutes.
Eliminate answer choices B and C. Also, since employee A can produce 5y DVDs in 120 minutes by himself/herself, any combination of workers that includes employee A will be able to produce at least 5y DVDs in 120 minutes
So,
answer choices D and F work. E. Employees B and C together120/36 = 3 1/3
So there are 3 1/3 36-minute periods in 120 minutes
Since employee B produces y DVDs during every 36-minute period, we know that employee B can produce (3 1/3)y DVDs in 120 minutes.
120/75 = 1.6
So there are 1.6 75-minute periods in 120 minutes
Since employee C produces y DVDs during every 75-minute period, we know that employee C can produce 1.6y DVDs in 120 minutes.
So if employees B and C work together, the total number of DVDs they can produce = (3 1/3)y + 1.6y, Which is less than 5y.
Eliminate answer choice D. G. Even if all three employees work together, they will not finish the jobWe already concluded that employee A can produce 5y DVDs in 120 minutes by himself/herself
Eliminate answer choice G. Answer: A, D and F