After it snows, it takes Maria and her little sister Anita 21 of an hour to shovel the snow off of the sidewalks on their street. This is 32 of the time it takes Maria to do the same job by herself. How long does it take Maria do this job by herself?
Q. After it snows, it takes Maria and her little sister Anita 21 of an hour to shovel the snow off of the sidewalks on their street. This is 32 of the time it takes Maria to do the same job by herself. How long does it take Maria do this job by herself?
Define Time Variables: Let's denote the time it takes Maria to shovel the snow by herself as x hours. According to the problem, Maria and her sister together take 21 hour to complete the task, and this time is 32 of the time Maria takes by herself.So, we can write the equation: 21=32×x.
Set Up Equation: To find x, we need to solve for x in the equation 21=32×x. To do this, we can divide both sides of the equation by 32 to isolate x.x=3221.
Solve for x: When dividing fractions, we multiply by the reciprocal of the divisor. The reciprocal of 32 is 23. So, x=(21)×(23).
Divide Fractions: Now, we multiply the numerators and the denominators separately. x=2×21×3.
Calculate Final Time: This simplifies to:x=43.So, it takes Maria 43 of an hour to shovel the snow off of the sidewalks on her street by herself.