Answer :
Final answer:
To determine how many hours Mike works at each job, we set up equations using the total hours and pay he receives from both jobs, and solved them to find that he works 35 hours at job A and 22 hours at job B.
Explanation:
To solve the problem of how many hours Mike works at each job, we need to set up two equations based on the given information about his earnings per hour and total earnings for the week. Let's denote the number of hours worked at job A as x and the number of hours worked at job B as y. We are given that Mike works a total of 57 hours per week (x + y = 57) and that he makes $421 before taxes (7x + 8y = 421).
- Equation 1: x + y = 57 (Total hours worked)
- Equation 2: 7x + 8y = 421 (Total earnings)
Now we need to solve this system of equations to find the values of x and y. We can do this by using the substitution or elimination method. For simplicity, let's use the elimination method by multiplying the first equation by 7 to align it with the second equation with respect to the term '7x':
- 7(x + y) = 7(57)
- 7x + 7y = 399
Subtracting this new equation from Equation 2:
- (7x + 8y) - (7x + 7y) = 421 - 399
- y = 22
Now that we have the value for y, we can substitute it back into Equation 1 to find x:
- x + 22 = 57
- x = 57 - 22
- x = 35
Thus, Mike works 35 hours at job A and 22 hours at job B.