Problem Solving

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

Answer: 9y

Explanation in OG is not clear to you ?
May be it wd be better if you post yr queries rather than simply posting the question....this wll help others to understand the problem you are facing....

RM 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

Answer: 9y

before the transfer of y dollars .. the hourly pay of john and mary are x/10 and x/8 ... once the transfer of y dollars is made the hourly wages for john and and mary are (x+y)/10 and (x-y)/8 ...

now these both are equal ... so ... (x+y)/10= (x-y)8 .... solve the equation and u have x = 9y ... hence the answer ..

Thanks

before the transfer of y dollars .. the hourly pay of john and mary are x/10 and x/8 ... once the transfer of y dollars is made the hourly wages for john and and mary are (x+y)/10 and (x-y)/8 ...

now these both are equal ... so ... (x+y)/10= (x-y)/8 .... solve the equation and u have x = 9y ... hence the answer ..

If I had to how would I solve that equation with 2 variables in it I keep coming up with :arrow: -2x = -18y.

vlad, that is equivalent to x=9y ( multiply both sides by-1 and divide by 2)



if you want to find out what x and y are you will need two equations

one equation with two unknowns cannot be solved

two equation with two unknowns can be solved


generally u need as many equations as unknowns for the possibility of solution to exist