Question

Fred and Sara work as part-time employees for a lawyer. Last week Fred worked 4 hours more than twice the number of hours Sara worked. Together they worked a total of 37 hours. What was the total number of hours that Fred worked last week?

Answer 1

Answer: Fred worked for 26 hours last week

Explanation:

Fred and Sara work as part-time employees for a lawyer.

Let x represent the total number of hours that Fred worked last week.

Let y represent the total number of hours that Sara worked last week.

Last week Fred worked 4 hours more than twice the number of hours Sara worked. This means that

x = 2y + 4

Together they worked a total of 37 hours. It means that

x + y = 37 - - - - - --- -1

Substituting x = 2y + 4 into equation 1, it becomes

2y + 4 + y = 37

2y + y = 37 - 4

3y = 33

y = 33/3 = 11

x = 37 - y

x = 37 - 11 = 26