Question

Two friends Olivia and Melanie took summer jobs the equation y = 22.2x represents Melanie’s earnings in dollars and cents y for working x hours Olivia earned $1156 in 40 hours

How much less per hour does Melanie earn than Olivia

Answer 1

First, let's determine Olivia's hourly wage. We know that she earned $1156 for 40 hours of work. To find her hourly wage, we can divide her total earnings by the number of hours worked:

\[
\text{Olivia's hourly wage} = \frac{1156}{40} = 28.9
\]

So, Olivia earns $28.90 per hour.

Next, we need to find out how much Melanie earns per hour. The equation given for Melanie's earnings is:

\[
y = 22.2x
\]

To find her hourly wage, we will observe that \( y \) is her total earnings for \( x \) hours. Thus, if we want to find her hourly wage, we can assume \( x = 1 \):

\[
y = 22.2(1) = 22.2
\]

So, Melanie earns $22.20 per hour.

Now, we need to find out how much less Melanie earns than Olivia:

\[
\text{Difference in hourly wages} = \text{Olivia's hourly wage} - \text{Melanie's hourly wage}
\]

Substituting the values we found:

\[
\text{Difference in hourly wages} = 28.9 - 22.2 = 6.7
\]

Therefore, Melanie earns **$6.70** less per hour than Olivia.