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Kalon and his friend Marna own a chimney sweep service company. Working together, they can clean a 20-foot chimney in [tex]$1 \frac{5}{7}$[/tex] hours. If it takes Kalon 4 hours to clean a 20-foot chimney by himself, how long does it take Marna to clean the same size chimney by herself?

[tex]\[
\begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|}
\hline
& \begin{tabular}{c}
Rate \\
(Chimneys per Hour)
\end{tabular}
& \begin{tabular}{c}
Time \\
(Hours)
\end{tabular}
& Fraction Completed \\
\hline
Kalon & $\frac{1}{4}$ & $1 \frac{5}{7}$ & $\frac{3}{7}$ \\
\hline
Marna & $x$ & $1 \frac{5}{7}$ & $\frac{12 x}{7}$ \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\][/tex]

A. 3 hours
B. 4 hours
C. 5 hours
D. [tex]$6 \frac{6}{7}$[/tex] hours


Sagot :

Alright, let's work through this problem step-by-step.

First, we need to understand the rates at which Kalon and Marna clean a chimney.

### Step 1: Determine Kalon's Cleaning Rate
Kalon can clean a 20-foot chimney by himself in 4 hours. This means Kalon's cleaning rate is:
[tex]\[ \text{Kalon's rate} = \frac{1 \text{ chimney}}{4 \text{ hours}} = \frac{1}{4} \text{ chimneys per hour} \][/tex]

### Step 2: Determine Their Combined Cleaning Rate
Together, Kalon and Marna clean a 20-foot chimney in [tex]\( 1 \frac{5}{7} \)[/tex] hours. We need to convert this time into an improper fraction.
[tex]\[ 1 \frac{5}{7} = 1 + \frac{5}{7} = \frac{7}{7} + \frac{5}{7} = \frac{12}{7} \text{ hours} \][/tex]

Their combined cleaning rate is:
[tex]\[ \text{Combined rate} = \frac{1 \text{ chimney}}{\frac{12}{7} \text{ hours}} = \frac{7}{12} \text{ chimneys per hour} \][/tex]

### Step 3: Determine Marna's Cleaning Rate
The combined rate is the sum of Kalon's rate and Marna's rate:
[tex]\[ \text{Combined rate} = \text{Kalon's rate} + \text{Marna's rate} \][/tex]
[tex]\[ \frac{7}{12} = \frac{1}{4} + \text{Marna's rate} \][/tex]

Subtract Kalon's rate from the combined rate to find Marna's rate:
[tex]\[ \text{Marna's rate} = \frac{7}{12} - \frac{1}{4} = \frac{7}{12} - \frac{3}{12} = \frac{4}{12} = \frac{1}{3} \text{ chimneys per hour} \][/tex]

### Step 4: Determine the Time it Takes Marna to Clean a Chimney by Herself
Finally, we need to calculate the time it takes Marna to clean 1 chimney. Since rate and time are inversely related, we can use the formula:
[tex]\[ \text{Time} = \frac{1}{\text{Rate}} \][/tex]
[tex]\[ \text{Marna's Time} = \frac{1 \text{ chimney}}{\frac{1}{3} \text{ chimneys per hour}} = 3 \text{ hours} \][/tex]

### Conclusion
Therefore, it takes Marna 3 hours to clean a 20-foot chimney by herself.