Harriet earns the same amount of money each day. Her gross pay at the end of 7 workdays is 35h+56 dollars. Which expression represents her gross pay each day?
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
To find Harriet’s gross pay each day, we start with the total amount she earned in 7 days, which is given as: Total gross pay in 7 days=35h+56 dollars\text{Total gross pay in 7 days} = 35h + 56 \text{ dollars}
Since Harriet earns the same amount each day, we divide the total gross pay by 7: Gross pay per day=35h+567\text{Gross pay per day} = \frac{35h + 56}{7}
Now simplify the expression: 35h+567=35h7+567=5h+8\frac{35h + 56}{7} = \frac{35h}{7} + \frac{56}{7} = 5h + 8
✅ Correct answer: 5h + 8
Explanation
To determine Harriet’s gross pay per day, we start by understanding the relationship between her total earnings and the number of days she worked. The problem states that her total gross pay after 7 days is 35h + 56 dollars, and she earns the same amount each day. When someone earns a fixed daily wage, the total earnings over multiple days can be represented as: Total Earnings=Daily Pay×Number of Days\text{Total Earnings} = \text{Daily Pay} \times \text{Number of Days}
Reversing this, we can find the daily pay by dividing the total earnings by the number of days: Daily Pay=Total EarningsNumber of Days\text{Daily Pay} = \frac{\text{Total Earnings}}{\text{Number of Days}}
In Harriet’s case: Daily Pay=35h+567\text{Daily Pay} = \frac{35h + 56}{7}
This expression involves simplifying an algebraic fraction. Using the distributive property of division over addition, we can split the expression: 35h+567=35h7+567\frac{35h + 56}{7} = \frac{35h}{7} + \frac{56}{7}
Next, simplify each term:
- 35h7=5h\frac{35h}{7} = 5h
- 567=8\frac{56}{7} = 8
So, the simplified form of Harriet’s daily gross pay is: 5h+85h + 8
This means that each day, Harriet earns 5h + 8 dollars. This could represent a variable wage based on hours (h) worked each day, where 5h is a component depending on time and 8 is a fixed bonus or allowance. The expression gives a clear algebraic representation of her daily pay.
