The average weekly pay for a records clerk is $960. If a records clerk works 40 hours in one week, what is his or her hourly pay?

Question

I'm not sure if we're dividing or what. 

Answer 1

You will want to use unit conversion, which makes use of multiplying fractions where you can cross out similar units if the same units are in the numerator and denominator.

 

The question states that the weekly pay is $960. You have also been told that the clerk works 40 hours in that week. Now, you need to set up a conversion to figure out how much the clerk earns per hour so that after a 40-hr week, the clerk will have earned $960.

 

Average weekly pay = $960/1wk

 

You also know that 1 workweek equals 40 hours = 1wk/40hrs.

 

Note that in $960/1wk,  the 1wk is in the denominator. Note that in 1wk/40hrs, the 1wk is in the numerator. Hence, the units of wk can be crossed out when the two fractions are multiplied like they are below.

 

Now, put those fractions together: ($960/1wk)*(1wk/40hrs) = $960/40hrs = $24/1hr.

 

Hence, the clerk earns $24 per hour.