Algebra

[manu.pant]

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?

Ans: 9y

[Frankenstein]

Hi,
After Mary gave y dollars to John, John has(x+y)$ and Mary has (x-y)$. John worked for 10 hours and Mary worked for 8 hours. Their hourly wages are now same.
That means (x+y)/10 = (x-y)/8 =>x=9y

Cheers!

[Anurag@Gurome]

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?

Ans: 9y

Initially, John and Mary were each paid x dollars in advance.
Mary gave John y dollars of her payment implies John has $(x + y) and Mary has $(x - y).
John has worked for 10 hours, so for 1 hr he is paid $(x + y)/10
Mary worked for 8 hrs, so for 1 hr she is paid $(x - y)/8
Since their hourly wages will be equal, so (x + y)/10 = (x - y)/8
8x + 8y = 10x - 10y
18y = 2x
9y = x

Hence, John was paid [spoiler]$9y[/spoiler] in advance.