TIME AND WORK

IMPORTANT FACTS AND FORMULAE

1
1.

If A can do a piece of work in n days, then As 1 days work =

.
n

1
2.

If As 1 days work =

, then A can finish the work in n days.

n

3.

If A is thrice as good a workman as B, then:

Ratio of work done by A and B = 3 : 1.
Ratio of times taken by A and B to finish a work = 1 : 3.

Ex.1. Worker A takes 8 hours to do a job. Worker B takes 10 hours to do the same job. How long
should it take both A and B, working together but independently, to do the same job?
1
Sol.

As 1 hours work =

, Bs 1 hours work =

10
1

(A + B)s 1 hours work =

9
=

10

40

40
:

Both A and B will finish the work in

4
= 4

days.
9

Ex.2. A and B together can complete a piece of work in 4 days .If A alone can complete the same
work in 12 days , in how many days can B alone complete that work?
1
Sol.

(A + B)s 1 days work

Bs 1 days work =

As 1 days work =

4
1

1
:

1
,

12
1
=

12

.
6

Hence, B alone can complete the work in 6 days.

Ex.3. A and B undertake to do a piece of work for Rs. 600. A alone can do it in 6 days while B alone
can do it in 8 days .With the help of C, they finish it in 3 days. Find the share of each.
1
Sol.

Cs 1 days work =

1
=

.
24
1

A : B : C = Ratio of their 1 days work =

1
:

1
:

= 4 : 3 : 1.
24

4
:

As share = Rs.

600 x

3
= Rs. 300, Bs share = Rs.

600 x

= Rs. 225.
8

Cs share = Rs. * 600 - (300 + 225)] = Rs. 75.

Ex.4. A is twice as good a workman as B and together they finished a piece of work in 18 days. In
how many days will A alone finish the work?
Sol.

(As 1 days work) : (Bs 1 days work ) = 2 : 1.

1
(A + B)s 1 days work =

.
18

1
Divide

in the ratio 2 : 1.
18
1

As 1 days work =

2
x

18

1
=

.
27

Hence, A alone can finish the work in 27 days.

Ex.5.

A can do a piece of a work in 7 days of 9 hours each and B can do it in 6 days of 7 hours each .
2
How long will they take to do it, working together 8
hours a day?
5
Sol.

A can complete the work in (7 x 9) = 63 hours.

B can complete the work in (6 x 7) = 42 hours.

1
:

As 1 hours work =

1
and Bs 1 hours work

63

42
1

(A + B),s 1 hours work =

63

42

126.

126
:

Both will finish the work in

hrs.
5

2
Number of days of 8

126
hrs each =

5
x

= 3 days.

42

Ex.6. A can do a piece of work in 80 days. He works at it for 10 days and then B alone finishes the
remaining work in 42 days. In how much time will A and B, workings together, finish the work?
1
Sol.

Work done by A in 10 days =

x 10 =
80
1

Remaining work

.
8

1 -

7
Now,

Work is done by B in 42 days.

8
8

Whole work will be done by B in

42 x

= 48 days.
7

1
:

As 1 days work =

1
and Bs 1 days work =

80
1
:

.
48

(A + B)s 1 days work =

1
+

80

8
=

48

Hence , both will finish the work in 30 days.

1
=

240

.
30

Ex.7. A is thrice as good as workman as B and therefore is able to finish a job in 60 days
less than B. Working together, they can do it in:
Sol.

Ratio of times taken by A and B = 1 : 3.

The time difference is (3 - 1) 2 days while B take 3 days and A takes 1 day.
If difference of time is 2 days, B takes 3 days.
If difference of time is 60 days, B takes

3
x 60 = 90 days.
2

So, A takes 30 days to do the work.

1
30
1
B's 1 day's work =
90
A's 1 day's work =

1 1
4 2
+
= =
30 90 90 45
45
1
A and B together can do the work in = 22 days.
2
2
(A + B)'s 1 day's work =

Ex.8.

If 9 men working 6 hours a day can do a work in 88 days. Then 6 men

working 8 hours a day can do it in how many days?

Sol:

From the above formula i.e (m1*t1/w1)=(m2*t2/w2)

so (9*6*88/1)=(6*8*d/1)
on solving, d=99 days.

Ex.9. If 5 women or 8 girls can do a work in 84 days. In how many days can 10
women and 5 girls can do the same work?
Sol:

Given that 5 women is equal to 8 girls to complete a work

so, 10 women=16 girls.
Therefore 10women +5girls=16girls+5girls=21girls.
8 girls can do a work in 84 days

then 21 girls

answer= (8*84/21)=32days.
Therefore 10 women and 5 girls can a work in 32days
Ex.10.
If 34 men completed 2/5th of a work in 8 days working 9 hours a day.
How many more man should be engaged to finish the rest of the work in
6 days working 9 hours a day?
Sol:

From the above formula i.e (m1*t1/w1)=(m2*t2/w2)

so, (34*8*9/(2/5))=(x*6*9/(3/5))
so x=136 men
number of men to be added to finish the work=136-34=102 men

Ex.11. A can do a certain job in 12 days . B is 60% more efficient than A . How many days does B
alone take to do the same job?
Sol.

Ratio of times taken by A and B = 160 : 100 = 8 : 5.

Suppose B alone takes x days to do the job.
1
Then, 8 : 5 :: 12 : x => 8x = 5 x 12 => x = 7

days.
2

Ex.12. 40 men can cut 60 trees in 8 hrs . If 8 men leave the job how many trees will be cut in 12
hours?
Sol.

40 men working 8 hrs cut 60 trees .

60
Or, 1 man working 1 hrs cuts

trees
40 x 8
60 x 32 x 12

Thus , 32 men - working 12 hrs - cut

= 72 trees.
40 x 8

Ex.13.
A takes twice as much time as B or thrice as much time to finish a piece of
work. Working together they can finish the work in 2 days. B can do the work alone in
?
Sol:

Suppose A,B and C take x,x/2 and x/3 hours respectively finish the
work then 1/x+2/x+3/x=1/2
=> 6/x=1/2
=>x=12
So, B takes 6 hours to finish the work.

Ex.14.
X can do of a work in 10 days, Y can do 40% of work in 40 days and
can do 1/3 of work in 13 days. Who will complete the work first?
Sol:

Whole work will be done by X in 10*4=40 days.

Whole work will be done by Y in (40*100/40)=100 days.
Whole work will be done by Z in (13*3)=39 days
Therefore,Z will complete the work first.

Ex.15. Mohan can do a piece of work in 10 days and Ramesh can do the same work in 15
days .How long will they take if both work together?
Sol.

10 x 15
=

150
=

10 + 15

= 6 days

Ans.

25

Ex.16. A and B together can do a piece of work in 30 days. A having worked for 16 days,
B finishes the remaining work alone in 44 days. In how many days shall B finish the whole
work alone?
Sol.

Let A's 1 day's work = x and B's 1 day's work = y.

1
Then, x + y = and 16x + 44y = 1.
30
1
1
Solving these two equations, we get: x = and y =
60
60
1
B's 1 day's work = .
60
Hence, B alone shall finish the whole work in 60 days.

Ex.17. A does a work in 10 days and B does the same work in 15 days .In how many days
they together will do the same work?
1
Sol.

As 1 days work =

1
and Bs 1 days work =

10

15
1

(A + B)s days work =

1
+

10

1
=

15

.
6

So, both together will finish the work in 6 days.

Ex.18.

A can do a certain work in 12 days. B is 60% more efficient than A. How

many days does B alone take to do the same job?

Sol:

Ratio of time taken by AaB=160:100 =8:5

Suppose B alone takes x days to do the job.
Then, 8:5::12:x
=> 8x=5*12
=> x=15/2 days.

Ex.19. A can do a piece of work n 7 days of 9 hours each and B alone can do it
in 6 days of 7 hours each. How long will they take to do it working together
8 2/5 hours a day?
Sol:

A can complete the work in (7*9)=63 days

B can complete the work in (6*7)=42 days
=> A's one hour's work=1/63 and
B's one hour work=1/42
(A+B)'s one hour work=1/63+1/42=5/126
Therefore, Both can finish the work in 126/5 hours.
Number of days of 8 2/5 hours each=(126*5/(5*42))=3days

Ex.20. A and B can together finish a work 30 days. They worked together for 20 days and then B
left. After another 20 days, A finished the remaining work. In how many days A alone can finish the
work?

Sol.

1
2
x 20 = .
30
3
2 1
Remaining work = 1 - = .
3 3
1
Now, work is done by A in 20 days.
3
(A + B)'s 20 day's work =

Therefore, the whole work will be done by A in (20 x 3) = 60 days.

Ex.21. A and B can do a work in 8 days, B and C can do the same work in 12 days. A, B,
and C together can finish it in 6 days. A and C together will do it in :
1
Sol.

(A + B + C)days work =

1
; (A + B)s 1 days work =

8
1

(B + C)s 1 days work

.
12
1

(A + C)s 1 days work

2 x

1
-

1
+

1
=

12

5
-

3
=

24

1
=

24

.
8

So, A and C together will do the work in 8 days .

Ex.22. A, B and C can do a piece of work in 20, 30 and 60 days respectively. In how many
days can A do the work if he is assisted by B and C on every third day?

Sol.

1
1
x2 = .
20
10
1 1 1
6 1
(A + B + C)'s 1 day's work =
+ +
= = .
20 30 60 60 10
1 1 1
Work done in 3 days =
+
= .
10 10 5
1
Now, work is done in 3 days.
5
A's 2 day's work =

Whole work will be done in (3 x 5) = 15 days.

Ex.23. X and Y can do a piece of work in 20 days and 12 days respectively. X started the
work alone and then after 4 days Y joined him till the completion of the work. How long
did the work last?

Sol.
Work done by X in 4 days =

1
1
x4 = .
20
5

1 4
Remaining work = 1 - = .
5 5
1 1
8 2
(X + Y)'s 1 day's work =
+
= = .
20 12 60 15
2
Now, work is done by X and Y in 1 day.
15
4
15 4
So, work will be done by X and Y in
x = 6 days.
5
2 5
Hence, total time taken = (6 + 4) days = 10 days.

Ex.24. A can do a certain work in the same time in which B and C together
can do it. If A and B together could do it in 10 days and C alone in 50
days, then B alone could do it in how many days?
Sol:

(A+B)'s one day's work=1/10;

C's one day's work=1/50
(A+B+C)'s one day's work=(1/10+1/50)=6/50=3/25
Also, A's one day's work=(B+C)'s one day's work
From i and ii ,we get :2*(A's one day's work)=3/25
=> A's one day's work=3/50
B's one day's work=(1/10-3/50)

=2/50
=1/25
B alone could complete the work in 25 days.

Ex.25. A is thrice as good a workman as B and therefore is able to finish a

job in 60 days less than B. Working together, they can do it in:
Sol:

Ratio of times taken by A and B=1:3.

If difference of time is 2 days , B takes 3 days
If difference of time is 60 days, B takes (3*60/2)=90 days
So, A takes 30 days to do the work=1/90
A's one day's work=1/30;
B's one day's work=1/90;
(A+B)'s one day's work=1/30+1/90=4/90=2/45
Therefore, A and B together can do the work in 45/2days

Ex.26. A can do a piece of work in 4 hours; B and C together can do it in 3 hours, while A and
C together can do it in 2 hours. How long will B alone take to do it?

Sol.

1
A's 1 hour's work = ;
4
1
(B + C)'s 1 hour's work = ;
3
1
(A + C)'s 1 hour's work = .
2
(A + B + C)'s 1 hour's work =
B's 1 hour's work =

1 1 7
+ = .
4 3 12

7 1 1
- = .
12 2 12

B alone will take 12 hours to do the work.

Ex.27. A does 80% of a work in 20 days. He then calls in B and they together finish the
remaining work in 3 days. How long B alone would take to do the whole work?
Sol.
Whole work is done by A in 20 x
Now, 1 -

5
= 25 days.
4

4
1
i.e., work is done by A and B in 3 days.
5
5

Whole work will be done by A and B in (3 x 5) = 15 days.

1
1
A's 1 day's work = , (A + B)'s 1 day's work = .
25
15
1 1
4 2
B's 1 day's work =
= = .
15 25 150 75
75
1
So, B alone would do the work in = 37 days.
2
2

Ex.28. X can do a piece of work in 40 days. He works at it for 8 days and then Y finished
it in 16 days. How long will they together take to complete the work?
Sol.
Work done by X in 8 days =

1
1
x8 = .
40
5

1 4
Remaining work = 1 - = .
5 5
4
Now, work is done by Y in 16 days.
5

5
Whole work will be done by Y in 16 x = 20 days.
4
1
1
X's 1 day's work = , Y's 1 day's work = .
40
20
1 1
3
(X + Y)'s 1 day's work =
+
= .
40 20 40
40
1
Hence, X and Y will together complete the work in
= 13 days.
3
3

Ex.29. A and B can do a job together in 7 days. A is 1

job can be done by A alone in :

times as efficient as B. The same

Sol.
7
(A's 1 day's work) : (B's 1 day's work) = : 1 = 7 : 4.
4
Let A's and B's 1 day's work be 7x and 4x respectively.
1
Then, 7x + 4x =
7

1
11x =
7
1
1
A's 1 day's work =
x7 = .
77
11

1
x= .
77

Ex.30. A and B can do a work in 8 days, B and C can do the same work in 12 days. A, B
and C together can finish it in 6 days. A and C together will do it in :
Sol.

1
(A + B + C)'s 1 day's work = ;
6
1
(A + B)'s 1 day's work = ;
8
1
(B + C)'s 1 day's work = .
12
1
1 1
(A + C)'s 1 day's work= 2 x - +
6
8 12
1 5
= 3 24
3
=
24
1
= .
8
So, A and C together will do the work in 8 days.