How much money did Penni earn this week

Question

Sam works at a job that pays $11 per hour and she worked 8 hours this week . Penni also worked this week. The money Sam earned is half as much as $30 more than Pennis earnings . How much did Penni Earn this week 

Answer 1

Let x=money Sam earned this week

     y=money Penni earned this week

We have 2 unknowns, so we must have 2 equations to solve this.

Eq. I:   x=11(8)                 Sam earns $11/hr X 8hrs

           x=$88

Eq. II:  x=(1/2)(30+y)       Sam earned 1/2 as much of 30 dollars more than Penni

           88=(1/2)(30+y)     substitute 88 for x from Eq. I

           88(2)=30+y          multiply both sides by 2

           176=30+y             simplify

           176-30=y              subtract 30 from both sides to isolate y

           146=y                   solve for y

Therefore, Penni earned $146 this week.