John and Mary

This topic has expert replies
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 435
Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2011 7:27 am
Thanked: 48 times
Followed by:16 members

John and Mary

by alex.gellatly » Sat Sep 08, 2012 6:46 pm
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?

4y
5y
6y
8y
9y
A useful website I found that has every quant OG video explanation:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/useful-websi ... tml#475231

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 15539
Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pm
Location: New York, NY
Thanked: 13060 times
Followed by:1906 members
GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Sat Sep 08, 2012 7:33 pm
Private tutor exclusively for the GMAT and GRE, with over 20 years of experience.
Followed here and elsewhere by over 1900 test-takers.
I have worked with students based in the US, Australia, Taiwan, China, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia -- a long list of countries.
My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.

As a tutor, I don't simply teach you how I would approach problems.
I unlock the best way for YOU to solve problems.

For more information, please email me (Mitch Hunt) at [email protected].
Student Review #1
Student Review #2
Student Review #3

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 3835
Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 10:00 pm
Location: Milpitas, CA
Thanked: 1854 times
Followed by:523 members
GMAT Score:770

by Anurag@Gurome » Sun Sep 09, 2012 6:14 pm
alex.gellatly 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?

4y
5y
6y
8y
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.
Anurag Mairal, Ph.D., MBA
GMAT Expert, Admissions and Career Guidance
Gurome, Inc.
1-800-566-4043 (USA)

Join Our Facebook Groups
GMAT with Gurome
https://www.facebook.com/groups/272466352793633/
Admissions with Gurome
https://www.facebook.com/groups/461459690536574/
Career Advising with Gurome
https://www.facebook.com/groups/360435787349781/