Final answer:
To find out how much Lena earned last week, we can multiply her hourly rate of $17.50 by the number of hours she worked. Lena earned $221.25 last week.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find out how much Lena earned last week, we can multiply her hourly rate of $17.50 by the number of hours she worked. Since Lena worked 12 5/8 hours, we can convert it to an improper fraction by multiplying the whole number (12) by the denominator (8) and adding the numerator (5). This gives us a total of 101/8 hours. Now we can multiply her hourly rate (17.50) by the number of hours (101/8) to find her earnings.
Earnings = Hourly rate * Number of hours worked
Earnings = $17.50 * 101/8
To simplify the calculation, we can reduce 101/8 to a mixed number. This would be 12 5/8 hours. Now we can calculate Lena's earnings:
Earnings = $17.50 * 12 5/8
Earnings = $17.50 * $221.25
Lena earned $221.25 last week.