Multiple choice

A contractor undertook to do a piece of work in 9 days. He employed a certain number of labourers but 6 of them were absent from the very first day and the rest could finish the work in only 15 days. Find the number of men originally employed.

  1. 15

  2. 6

  3. 13

  4. 9

  5. None of these
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A Correct answer
Explanation

Let x be the number of men. Work = x * 9. If 6 are absent, (x-6) * 15 = work. So 9x = 15(x-6) => 9x = 15x - 90 => 6x = 90 => x = 15.

AI explanation

Using the formula M1 times D1 equals M2 times D2, let the original number of men be M. We have M times 9 days equals the rest of the men times 15 days. The number of men present is M minus 6, so 9M equals 15M minus 90. Solving this equation gives 6M equals 90, meaning the originally employed number of men was 15.

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