Question

A fastpitch softball player signs a six-

vear contract. Her agent expects that she will
earn $1,000,000 over the next six years. If the
agent is right, how many bonus payments, on
average, should the pitcher expect each year?
Explain how you got the answer.

Answer 1

• 18 bonus payments, on average, each year.

Step-by-step explanation:

The information provided about the contract can be translated into an algebraic expression that will yield to an equation that you can solve:

Yearly salary: $ 20,000

• Salary for six years: 6 × $ 20,000 = $ 120,000

Bonus for each game that attracts 100 plus fans:

• Number of bonus payments over the six years: x (unknown)
• Bonus amount: 8,000 × x = 8,000x
• Total earnings: $120,000 + $8,000x

Equation:

• Total earnings = agent's expectation

• 120,000 + 8,000x = 1,000,000

Solve the equation:

• 120,000 + 8,000x = 1,000,000
• 8,000x = 1,000,000 - 120,000
• 8,000x = 880,000
• x = 880,000 / 8,000 = 110 ← number of bonus payments over the 6 years

To obtain the number of bonus payments expected each year, divide the total number of bonus payments (110) by the number of years (6):

• 110 / 6 = 18.3

Althoug it is not wrong giving the answer as a decimal, because it is an average, you can also round to the closest whole number which is 18.

Hence, the answer is that the pitcher should expect 18 bonus payments, on average, each year.