To complete a work, Aditi takes 60% more time than Bimla. If both of them work together, they take 16 days to complete the work. How much time shall Bimla take to do it alone?

26 days

The correct answer is Option (1) → 26 days

Let Bimla’s time = x days

Aditi takes 60% more time, so

$\text{Aditi’s time} = 1.6x$

Work rates

$\text{Bimla’s rate} = \frac{1}{x}$

$\text{Aditi’s rate} = \frac{1}{1.6x} = \frac{5}{8x}$

Combined work rate

$\frac{1}{x} + \frac{5}{8x} = \frac{8+5}{8x} = \frac{13}{8x}$

Given, together they finish work in 16 days:

$\frac{13}{8x} = \frac{1}{16}$

Solve for x

$13 \times 16 = 8x$

$208 = 8x$

$x = 26$

Correct answer: 26 days