Final answer:
The interns at Math Inc. make $16 per hour and the experienced employees make $42 per hour. This was determined by setting up a system of equations based on the total hourly cost and the combined hourly wage of one intern and one experienced employee, and solving for the unknowns.
Step-by-step explanation:
To solve for the hourly wage of the interns and the experienced employees at Math Inc., we can set up a system of equations and solve for the two unknowns. We know that the total cost for Math Inc. per hour is $1,148, and there are 22 experienced employees and 14 interns.
Let's denote the hourly wage of an experienced employee as e, and the hourly wage of an intern as i. From the information given, we can create the following two equations:
- 22e + 14i = 1148 (total hourly cost)
- e + i = 58 (combined hourly wage of Irene the intern and her brother Eric the experienced employee)
Solving these equations simultaneously, we multiply the second equation by 14 to eliminate i and find the value of e:
Subtract this from the first equation:
- (22e + 14i) - (14e + 14i) = 1148 - 812
- 8e = 336
- e = 336 / 8 = 42
Now, substituting e = 42 into the second equation, we get:
- 42 + i = 58
- i = 58 - 42 = 16
Therefore, the interns are paid $16 per hour, and the experienced employees are paid $42 per hour.