Question

PLEASE HELPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!! Two mechanics worked on a car. The first mechanic charged $115 per hour, and the second mechanic charged $45 per hour. The mechanics worked for a combined total of 35 hours, and together they charged a total of $2975. How long did each mechanic work?

Answer 1

First mechanic: 20 hours

Second mechanic: 15 hours

Explanation:

First we create two equations where:

x - hours of first mechanic

y - hours of second mechanic

x+y=35

115x+45y=2975

Then, we multiply both sides of the first equation by 45, and then subtract it from the second equation:

45x+45y=1575

|115x+45y=2975

-|45x+45y = 1575

70x = 1400

x=20 hours

Now we know for how many hours the first mechanic worked. Now we just need to subtract that from the combined total to find the second mechanic's hours:

35-20=15 hours