Judy worked 8 hours and Ben worked 10 hours. Their combined pay was $80. When Judy worked 9 hours and Ben worked 5 hours, their combined pay was $65. What is the hourly rate of pay for each person?

1 Answer
May 21, 2016

Judy =$5

Ben= $4

Explanation:

Let Judy = #x# and Ben = #y#.

#8x+10y=80#
#9x+5y=65#

Solve these simultaneous equations.

#8x+10y=80#
#18x+10y=130#

Take the second equation away from the first equation

#-10x=-50#

#x=5# This means that Judy gets paid $5 an hour.

Therefore, Ben gets paid $4 an hour.