paul hours after school

Question

Paul words 2 hours daily after school, Monday through Friday. On Saturdays he works 8 hours at $2 more per hour than on weekdays. If he makes $142 per week, how much does he make per hour on weekdays?

Answer 1

Hi Natalie,

 

Let X = Paul's hourly wage from Monday through Friday.

 

Now we can translate the English into math. . .

 

Paul works 2 hours daily Monday through Friday . . . that's 5 days for a total of 10 hours at $X per hour = 10X

 

Paul works 8 hours on Saturday for $2 more per hour . . . 8(X + 2)

 

He makes a total of $142--> 10X + 8(X + 2) = 142

 

Multiply the inside of the parentheses by 8--> 10X + 8X + 16 = 142

 

Combine like terms--> 18X = 126

 

Divide both sides by 18--> X = 7

 

So Paul makes $7 per hour on weekdays.

 

Plug it back into the question to make sure it's correct

 

Have fun.

 

Dan