James decides to try and collect rare artifacts in the field. He spends 6 months researching before going on a 2-year-long expedition for his first find. The second artifact takes 3 times as long for the research and discovery. How long did it take him to find both?
Step-by-step reasoning process below:
10
The research took 6 / 12 =.

5 years.

So it took 2 +.

5 = 2.

5 years for the first artifact.

It takes 2.

5 * 3 = 7.

5 years for the second.

So in total it took 2.

5 + 7.

5 = 10 years to find both.

.

Therefore, the answer is 10