Final answer:
To calculate the rate of $254 earned in 18 hours, divide the earnings by the hours to get $14.11 per hour, which is the simplest form of the rate.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the rate written in simplest form for earning $254 in 18 hours, we divide the total amount of money earned by the total number of hours worked. This calculation can be seen as a basic algebra problem related to rates.
Rate = Total Money Earned / Total Hours Worked
Rate = $254 / 18 hours
When we perform this division, we get the rate per hour. It can be simplified further by dividing both the numerator and the denominator by their greatest common divisor. However, in this case, $254 and 18 do not have a common divisor other than 1, so the rate simplifies to approximately $14.11 per hour, when rounded to two decimal places.