Explanation:
a) We can use the formula:
Amount earned per day = Amount kept + Amount given away
where "Amount earned per day" is the amount Tom earns in one day, "Amount kept" is the amount Tom keeps for himself each day, and "Amount given away" is the amount Tom gives to his mom each day.
Using the given information, we can plug in the values:
$40 = Amount kept + $8 x 4
Simplifying this equation, we get:
$40 = Amount kept + $32
Subtracting $32 from both sides, we get:
$8 = Amount kept
Now, we need to find the amount Tom gets paid each hour, which we can represent as "h". We know that Tom works 4 hours a day, and for each hour he works, he puts $8 aside for his mom. Therefore, the amount he earns each day can be expressed as:
Amount earned per day = h x 4
We also know that Tom keeps $8 for himself each day, so we can rewrite the equation as:
Amount earned per day = Amount kept + Amount given away
h x 4 = $8 + Amount given away
Substituting the value we found for "Amount kept", we get:
h x 4 = $8 + Amount given away
h x 4 = $8 + $32
h x 4 = $40
Dividing both sides by 4, we get:
h = $10
Therefore, Tom gets paid $10 per hour.