James decides to try and collect rare artifacts in the field. He spends 6 months researching before going on a 2-year-long expedition for his first find. The second artifact takes 3 times as long for the research and discovery. How long did it take him to find both? Let's think first. Chain of thought:
The research took 6 / 12 = .5 years. So it took 2 + .5 = 2.5 years for the first artifact. It takes 2.5 * 3 = 7.5 years for the second. So in total it took 2.5 + 7.5 = 10 years to find both.
Therefore, the answer is 10.