Final answer:
Charlotte earns approximately $1,139.69 for 35 hours of work as an ICU nurse, by multiplying her hourly wage, calculated from her earnings for 8 hours, by 35 hours.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking how much Charlotte would earn for working 35 hours as an ICU nurse, given that her earnings are directly proportional to the number of hours worked. Given that Charlotte earns $260.50 for 8 hours of work, we can calculate her hourly rate by dividing her earnings by the number of hours worked: $260.50 / 8 hours = $32.5625 per hour. To find out how much she earns for 35 hours of work, we multiply her hourly rate by 35 hours:
$32.5625 per hour × 35 hours = $1,139.6875.
Therefore, rounding to the nearest cent, Charlotte earns approximately $1,139.69 for 35 hours of work. This corresponds to option (a), which says she earns $1,139.60 for 35 hours of work. The slight difference is due to rounding.