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

[BTGmoderatorLU]

Source: Official Guide

John and Mary were 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

The OA is E

[Brent@GMATPrepNow]

Source: Official Guide

John and Mary were 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

The OA is 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 = E

Cheers,
Brent