College algebra

Question

An employment agency specializing in temporary construction help pays heavy equipment operators $121 per day and general laborers $98 per day. If fortyforty people were hired and the payroll was $4472, how many heavy equipment operators were? employed? How many? laborers?

Answer 1

Let L = the number of laborers and H = the number of heavy equipment operators employed.

 

The problem translates to the two equations:

 

L + H = 40

 

121H + 98L = 4472

 

You may solve this by eliminating one of the variables at a time.

 

To solve for H, multiply the first equation by -98, add to the second, and solve for H:

 

-98H - 98L = -3920

121H + 98L = 4472

 

23H = 552

 

H = 552/23 = 24

 

To solve for L, you can repeat the procedure as for H, or substitute H = 24 into the first equation and solve for L (easier):

 

L = 40 - 23 = 17.

 

The answer is: 17 laborers and 23 heavy equipment workers were hired.