I need help with this problem.....

Question

Suppose the average yearly salary of an individual whose final degree is a​ master's is

​$53

thousand less than twice that of an individual whose final degree is a​ bachelor's. Combined, two people with each of these educational attainments earn

​$121

thousand. Find the average yearly salary of an individual with each of these final degrees.

Answer 1

What we have is a system of equations. 2 equations in 2 variables, so we should be able to solve it.

Start by assigning the variables

let B = avg annual salary of person with Bachelors degree in thousands of dollars

M = " " Masters " "

Then we are told 2B - 53 = M and B + M = 121

Now, there are a couple of ways we can solve this system. I like the substitution method, because the first equation is already solved for M. Just plug 2B -53 in for M in the 2nd equation (substitute)

we get B + (2B - 53) = 121

All that's left is to solve for B, plug this value back into the 2nd equation to find M, and write down the answers with a dollar sign and three zeros (for thousands of dollars). I also suggest you check your answers by plugging both values into the first equation and verify that it is a true expression.