anirudhbhalotia wrote:John and Mary were each paid x dollars in advance to do a certain job together. John worked on the job for 10 hours and Mary worked 2 hours less than John.If Mary gave John y dollars of her payment so that they would have received the same hourly wage, what was the dollar amount, in terms of y, that John was paid in advance?
A. 4y
B. 5y
C. 6y
D. 8y
E. 9y
OA - E
We can plug in values that satisfy the conditions given.
Let wage = $2/hr.
John works 10 hours. He should earn 10*2 = $20.
Mary works 8 hours. She should earn 8*2 = $16.
The total earned is 20+16 = $36.
So each was paid in advance x = $18.
For John to earn $20, Mary must give John y = $2.
John was paid in advance $18. This is our target.
Now we plug y=2 into the answers to see which yields our target of 18.
Only answer choice E works:
9y = 9*2 = $18.
The correct answer is
E.
Hope this helps!
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