harry can rake the leaves in the yard 8 hours faster than his little brother jimmy can. if they work together, they can complete the job in 3 hours.
using complete sentences, explain each step in figuring out how to determine the time it would take jimmy to complete this job on his own.

Harry can rake the leaves in the yard 8 hours faster than his little brother Jimmy can. 
If they join to work together they can complete the job in 3 hours. 
1/x + 1/(x - 8) = 1/3 
3(x - 8) + 3x = x(x - 8) 
x^2 - 14x + 24 = 0 
(x - 12)(x - 2) = 0 
Solutions: 
x = 2 
x = 12 
Jimmy can complete the job on his own in 12 hours.