John and Mary were each paid $x$ dollars in advance to do

Question

Official Guide 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 for 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

GMATGuruNY · Answer

AAPL wrote:Official Guide 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 for 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. $9y$ Hourly wage = (total pay)/(total number of work-hours) John worked on the job for 10 hours, and Mary worked for 2 hours less than John. Thus, the total number of work-hours = 10+8 = 18. John and Mary were each paid $x$ dollars in advance. Since the total pay should be divisible by the total number of work hours, let x = 18. Since John and Mary are each paid $18 in advance, the total pay = 18+18 = 36. Thus, the hourly wage = (total pay)/(total number of work-hours) = 36/18 = $2 per hour. Since John works for 10 hours at a rate of $2 per hour, John's take-home pay = 10*2 = 20. Since Mary works for 8 hours at a rate of $2 per hour, Mary's take-home pay = 8*2 = 16. Mary gave John $y$ dollars of her payment. Since Mary is given $18 in advance but takes home $16, she gives John $2, implying that y=2. What was the dollar amount, in terms of y, that John was paid in advance? Since John was paid $18 in advance, the correct answer must yield 18 when y=2. Only E works: 9y = 9*2 = 18 The correct answer is E.

Scott@TargetTestPrep · Answer

AAPL wrote:Official Guide 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 for 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 are first given that John worked for 10 hours and that Mary worked for 2 hours less than John. It follows that: John’s hours = 10 Mary’s hours = 8 We are also given that John and Mary were each given x dollars in advance. We are also told that Mary gave John y dollars of her payment so that they would have an equal hourly wage. It follows that Mary actually made x – y dollars. Since John received y dollars, he now made x + y dollars. Using this information, the hourly wages of John and Mary are: hourly wage = (total paid)/(# of hours) Mary’s wage = (x – y)/8 John’s wage = (x + y)/10 Since we are told that the two hourly wages are the same, we can set the hourly wages of John and Mary equal to each other. (x + y)/10 = (x – y)/8 We can cross multiply and solve: 8x + 8y = 10x – 10y -2x = -18y x = 9y Answer: E

Brent@GMATPrepNow · Answer

AAPL wrote:Official Guide 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 for 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 Salary Mary's NET salary was x - y dollars (because Mary gave John y dollars) John's NET salary was x + y dollars Hours worked Mary worked 8 hours John worked 10 hours In the end, John and Mary received the SAME hourly wage. So, John's hourly wage = Mary's hourly wage Hourly wage = (total salary)/(hours worked) So, (x + y)/10 = (x - y)/8 In terms of y, that John was paid in advance? In other words, what is the value of x (in terms of y) So, we'll solve our equation for x. Take (x + y)/10 = (x - y)/8 and cross multiply to get: 10(x - y) = 8(x + y) Expand: 10x - 10y = 8x + 8y Rearrange: 2x = 18y Divide by 2: x = 9y So, John's advance payment = x = 9y Answer: E Cheers, Brent

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