Multiple choice

A pipe can fill a tank in 10 minutes. If two pipes of same size are opened at the same time, how much time will it take to fill a tank?

  1. 5 minutes

  2. 10 minutes

  3. 15 minutes

  4. 20 minutes
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

If one pipe fills the tank in 10 minutes, its rate is 1/10 tank per minute. Two pipes have a combined rate of 1/10 + 1/10 = 2/10 = 1/5 tank per minute. Time taken = 1 / (1/5) = 5 minutes.

AI explanation

If a single pipe fills the tank in 10 minutes, using the work equivalence method, two pipes of the same size will work at twice the rate. The total work is 1 full tank, so the combined rate is 1/10 + 1/10 of the tank per minute. This gives a combined rate of 2/10 or 1/5 of the tank per minute. Taking the reciprocal of this combined rate gives the total time of 5 minutes.

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