Question

3. John receives a day worth of pay, p, for 4 days of newspaper delivery. He spent half of his money on gas. Then he

spent $5 on coffee. Now he has $35 left. How much does John get paid each day for newspaper delivery?
a. Write an expression for the amount of money John earns for 4 days.
b. Use part a to write an expression to represent spending half of his money on gas.
c. Use part b to write an expression to represent spending $5 on coffee.
d. If John has $35 left, write an equation that can be used to find how much John gets paid each day. Solve.

Answer 1

a.
`Total = 4P`

b.
`Gas = 2P`

c.
`2P - 5`

d.
`P = 20`

Explanation:

Given

`Amount\ received = P`

`Number\ of\ days = 4`

`Coffee = \$5`

`Amount\ Left = \$35`

Calculating (a); the total amount earned;

`Total = Amount * Days`

`Total = 4 * P`

`Total = 4P`

Calculating (b): Money Spent on Gas

From the question, we understand that 1/2 of his earnings is spent on gas;

Hence;

`Gas = (1)/(2) * Total`

Substitute 4P for Total

`Gas = (1)/(2) * 4P`

`Gas = 2P`

Calculating (c): Expression for coffee

First, we need to calculate the amount left after buying Gas;

`Amount = Total - Gas`

`Amount = 4P - 2P`

`Amount = 2P`

From this amount, he bough coffee of $5;

Hence; he's left with

`2P - 5`

Calculating (d): Calculating his daily earnings

After (c) above, he has $35 left

So, we have

`2P - 5 = 35`

Add 5 to both sides

`2P - 5 + 5= 35 + 5`

`2P = 40`

Divide through by 2

`P = 20`

Hence, his daily earnings is $20