Question

Difficulty: HardBasic Algebraic Expressions and One-Step Equations

A digital commercial printing press operates at a constant rate of rr pages per minute. During a scheduled production session lasting tt minutes, the machine was paused for 1212 minutes due to paper replenishment. If the printing press successfully printed pp pages during the operational portion of the session, which of the following equations correctly expresses the relationship between rr, pp, and tt?

  1. A
    r=pt12r = \frac{p}{t} - 12
  2. r=pt12r = \frac{p}{t - 12}Answer
  3. C
    r=pt+12r = \frac{p}{t + 12}
  4. D
    r=p12tr = \frac{p - 12}{t}
  5. E
    r=12ptr = \frac{12p}{t}

Answer

The correct equation is r=pt12r = \frac{p}{t - 12}.
Since the press was paused for 12 minutes during a session of tt minutes, the total time spent actually printing was (t12)(t - 12) minutes. The printing rate rr is defined as pages printed divided by active printing time, giving r=pt12r = \frac{p}{t - 12}.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the active printing time in terms of tt.
Active operating time = (t12)(t - 12) minutes.
The machine was paused for 12 minutes out of the total session duration of tt minutes.
2
Use the basic rate relationship Rate = Quantity / Time.
r=pt12r = \frac{p}{t - 12}.
Dividing the total pages printed pp by the active printing duration (t12)(t - 12) yields the rate rr in pages per minute.

Key Concept

Formulating one-step rate and time algebraic relationships with adjusted variables.
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