Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) Practice Test

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When dealing with more than two workers in a combined work question, which formula should be used?

1/T = 1/A + 1/B
1/T = 1/A + 1/B + 1/C + ...
T = (A * B * C)/(A + B + C)
T = A + B + C

The correct answer is: 1/T = 1/A + 1/B + 1/C + ...

In combined work problems involving multiple workers, the correct approach to determine the time taken by all workers to complete a task together is represented by the formula where the reciprocals of their individual work rates are summed. This formula is particularly powerful because it incorporates the contribution of each worker in terms of the fraction of the work they complete per unit of time. When using the formula, each individual’s rate of work is represented as 1/A for worker A, 1/B for worker B, and so forth for each additional worker, culminating in the sum of all these individual contributions. The total time T, needed to complete the work together, is thus found by taking the reciprocal of the sum of these individual rates, expressed as 1/T = 1/A + 1/B + 1/C + .... This means that if one worker can complete the job in A hours, another in B hours, and a third in C hours, the overall time T it would take for all three to complete the job when working together can be calculated accurately using the summation of these individual rates. This formula is foundational in work rate problems and allows you to constructively analyze the combined efficiency of multiple workers collaborating on a task. The other options provided do not adequately