Wayne and his Son Shoveling the Driveway

How long would it take for Wayne's son to shovel the entire driveway on his own?

If Wayne takes three times as fast as his son, how many hours would it take for his son to shovel the entire driveway on his own?

Answer:

It would take Wayne's son 3 hours to shovel the entire driveway on his own.

Working together, Wayne and his son can shovel the entire driveway in three hours. Wayne's son would need 3 hours to complete the task on his own. This shows that even though Wayne is faster, his son is still capable of completing the job independently within a reasonable amount of time.

To solve this problem, we can use a formula that involves the rates at which Wayne and his son work. Let x be the time it takes for Wayne's son to shovel the entire driveway on his own. We can set up the equation:

1/3 = 1/x + 1/(3x)

Given that Wayne is three times faster than his son, we substitute 3x for Wayne's rate:

1/3 = 1/x + 1/(9x)

Multiplying both sides by 9x to simplify the equation:

3x = 9 + x

Solving for x, we find x = 3 hours. Therefore, it would take Wayne's son 3 hours to shovel the entire driveway on his own.