High School

It takes Monica 20 minutes longer to paint a rectangular canvas that measures 25 inches by 20 inches than it takes her to paint a canvas that measures 20 inches by 15 inches. If she paints the two canvases at the same rate per square inch, how long does it take her to paint both canvases?

A. 60 minutes
B. 70 minutes
C. 80 minutes
D. 90 minutes

Answer :

To find out how long it takes Monica to paint both canvases, we need to consider the areas of the canvases and the fact that she paints at a constant rate. Let's break it down step by step:

1. Calculate the Area of Each Canvas:
- The first canvas measures 25 inches by 20 inches. Its area is:
[tex]\[
\text{Area of first canvas} = 25 \times 20 = 500 \text{ square inches}
\][/tex]
- The second canvas measures 20 inches by 15 inches. Its area is:
[tex]\[
\text{Area of second canvas} = 20 \times 15 = 300 \text{ square inches}
\][/tex]

2. Determine the Relationship Between Painting Times:
- Let [tex]\( t \)[/tex] represent the time it takes Monica to paint the second canvas (300 square inches).
- It takes Monica 20 minutes longer to paint the first canvas than the second canvas. Therefore, the time to paint the first canvas is [tex]\( t + 20 \)[/tex].

3. Set Up the Equation:
- Since Monica paints at the same rate, we set the rates equal to each other:
[tex]\[
\frac{500}{t + 20} = \frac{300}{t}
\][/tex]
- This equation states that the rate of painting the area of the first canvas is equal to the rate of painting the area of the second canvas.

4. Solve for [tex]\( t \)[/tex]:
- Solving the equation [tex]\( 500 \times t = 300 \times (t + 20) \)[/tex] gives us [tex]\( t = 30 \)[/tex] minutes for the second canvas.

5. Calculate the Time for the First Canvas:
- Since it takes 20 minutes longer for the first canvas, the time is [tex]\( 30 + 20 = 50 \)[/tex] minutes.

6. Find the Total Time for Both Canvases:
- Adding the times for both canvases gives us:
[tex]\[
\text{Total time} = 30 + 50 = 80 \text{ minutes}
\][/tex]

Therefore, it takes Monica 80 minutes to paint both canvases. The correct answer is C. 80 minutes.