Study, But How?
Achinta was studying for his examinations and the lights went out around 1:00 AM. He lit two uniform candles of equal length but one thicker than the other. The thick candle is supposed to last six hours and the thin one two hours less. When he finally went to sleep, the thick candle was twice as long as the thin one.
For how many minutes did Achinta study by candlelight?
The answer is 180.
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1 solution
Assume that the initial lenght of both the candle was L and Achinta studied for X hours.
In X hours, total thick candle burnt = XL/6
In X hours, total thin candle burnt = XL/4
After X hours, total thick candle remaining = L - XL/6
After X hours, total thin candle remaining = L - XL/4
Also, it is given that the thick candle was twice as long as the thin one when he finally went to sleep. (L - XL/6) = 2(L - XL/4)
(6 - X)/6 = (4 - X)/2
(6 - X) = 3*(4 - X)
6 - X = 12 - 3X
2X = 6
X = 3
Hence, Achinta studied for 3 hours i.e. 180 minutes in candle light.