Question

Judy worked 8 hours and Ben worked 10 hours. Their combined pay was $80. When Judy worked 9 hours and Ben worked 5 hours, their combined pay was $65. Find the hourly rate of pay for each person

Answer 1

Judy = $5/hr

Ben = $4/hr

Explanation:

Judy's hours at work - x

Ben's hours at work - y

8x + 10y = 80

9x + 5y = 65

Given these two equations above, we get:

10y = 80 - 8x, which means y = 8 - 0.8x.

Substitute y in the second equation with 8 - 0.8x, so we have:

9x + 5 (8 - 0.8x) = 65

9x + 40 - 4x = 65

5x = 25

x = 5

Come back to the first equation, substitute x:

8*5 + 10y = 80

10y = 80 - 40

y = 4