Two consultants can type up a report in 12.5 hours and edit it in 7.5 hours. If Mary needs 30 hours to type the report and Jim needs 12 hours to edit it alone, how many E hours will it take if Jim types the report and Mary edits it immediately after he is done?	Answers: A) 41.4 B) 34.1 C) 13.4 D) 12.4 E) 10.8

Rationale: "break down the problem into two pieces : typing and editing . mary needs 30 hours to type the report - - > mary ' s typing rate = 1 / 30 ( rate reciprocal of time ) ( point 1 in theory below ) ; mary and jim can type up a report in 12.5 and - - > 1 / 30 + 1 / x = 1 / 12.5 = 2 / 25 ( where x is the time needed for jim to type the report alone ) ( point 23 in theory below ) - - > x = 150 / 7 ; jim needs 12 hours to edit the report - - > jim ' s editing rate = 1 / 12 ; mary and jim can edit a report in 7.5 and - - > 1 / y + 1 / 12 = 1 / 7.5 = 2 / 15 ( where y is the time needed for mary to edit the report alone ) - - > y = 20 ; how many e hours will it take if jim types the report and mary edits it immediately after he is done - - > x + y = 150 / 7 + 20 = ~ 41.4 answer : a ."
Answer: A