Matt’s parents pay him $5.50 for each half hour he babysits his sister, plus a two dollar tip. If Matt made $18.50, for how long did he babysit?

Answer 1

Let x be the number of half-hours Matt babysat his sister.

The amount Matt earns for babysitting is 5.5x + 2.

Given that he made $18.50, we can set up the equation:

5.5x + 2 = 18.50

Subtracting 2 from both sides gives:

5.5x = 16.50

Dividing by 5.5 on both sides gives:

x = 3

Therefore, Matt babysat for 3 half-hours.