Adam, Bethany, and Carla own a painting company. To paint a particular home, Adam estimates it would take him 4 days. Bethany estimates 5.5 days. Carla estimates 6 days. How long would it take them to work together to paint the house.
Our combined work function for time (t) using a = Adam's time, b = Bethany's time, and c = Carla's time is:
1/a + 1/b + 1/c = 1/t
Plugging in a, b, and c, we get:
1/4 + 1/5.5 + 1/6 = 1/t
0.25 + 0.181818 + 0.1667 = 1/t
1/t = 0.59848
t = 1.67089 days
Our combined work function for time (t) using a = Adam's time, b = Bethany's time, and c = Carla's time is:
1/a + 1/b + 1/c = 1/t
Plugging in a, b, and c, we get:
1/4 + 1/5.5 + 1/6 = 1/t
0.25 + 0.181818 + 0.1667 = 1/t
1/t = 0.59848
t = 1.67089 days