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The governor of state A earns $52,320 more than the governor of state B. If the total of their salaries is $288,610, find the salaries of each.

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Answer:

Salary of state A's governor = $170,465

Salary of state B's governor = $118,145

Explanation:

We will need a system of equations to find the salaries of each governor.

Let A represent the salary of state A's governor and B represent the salary of state B's governor.

Step 1: Write an equation showing that state A's governor's salary is $52320 higher than state B's governor:

Since the governor of state A earns $52320 more than the governor of state B, we can model this with the equation:

A = B + 52320

Step 2: Write an equations showing that the sum of the two governor's salaries is $288610:

The equation modeling the sum of the governor's salaries is given by:

A + B = 288610

Step 3: Plug in A = B + 52320 for A in A + B = 288610 to solve for B:

Now, we can plug in A = B + 52320 for A in A + B = 288610 to solve for B:

B + 52320 + B = 288610

Combining like terms gives us:

2B + 52320 = 288610

Subtracting 52320 from both sides gives us:

2B = 236290

Dividing both sides by 2 gives us:

B = 118145

Step 4: Find A, the salary of state A's governor:

We can plug in 118145 for B in A + B = 288610 to find A, the salary of state A's governor:

A + 118145 = 288610

Subtracting 118145 from both sides gives us:

A = 170465

Thus, the salary of state A's governor is $170,465 and the salary of state B's governor is $118,145.

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