document.write( "<A HREF=/cgi-bin/jump-to-question.mpl?question=1187547>Question 1187547</A>: <I><SPAN STYLE=\"word-break: break-all;\"> Tom worked for a week from Monday to Friday and was paid $7 per hour. He<BR>\n" );
document.write( "used 3/5 of his money he earned and an additional $36 to buy some books. He<BR>\n" );
document.write( "spent 1/2 of the remaining money and an additional $20 on some stationery. He<BR>\n" );
document.write( "saved the $32 that was left.\r<BR>\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "(a)        How much did he spend on the stationary?\r<BR>\n" );
document.write( "\n" );
document.write( "(b)        What was the total number of hours he had worked from Monday to<BR>\n" );
document.write( "             Friday? </SPAN>\n" );
document.write( "</I><HR><TABLE width=100%><TR><TD><B><A HREF=http://www.algebra.com/>Algebra.Com's</A> Answer #818540 by </B><A HREF=/tutors/aboutme.mpl?userid=greenestamps><B>greenestamps(13209)</B></A><img src=\"/images/stars/stars-13.gif\" alt=\"\" >&nbsp;<A HREF=/tutors/aboutme.mpl?userid=greenestamps><IMG SRC=http://www.algebra.com/images/aboutme-small.gif BORDER=0 alt=\"About Me\" VALIGN=MIDDLE></A>&nbsp;<IMG SRC=http://www.algebra.com/cgi-bin/show-face.mpl?user=greenestamps><BR>You can <A HREF=\"/cgi-bin/embed-solution.mpl?show=1&solution=818540\">put this solution on YOUR website!</A><BR><SPAN STYLE=\"word-break: break-all;\"> <br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "You could set this problem up for solving by starting from the beginning and forming an equation from the given information.  It might look something like this....<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "Let <IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=x ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"x\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" > = the total he earned<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "(1) He spent 3/5 of it, leaving 2/5 of it.  The amount remaining was <IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=%282%2F5%29x ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"%282%2F5%29x\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" ><BR>\n" );
document.write( "(2) He then spent $36 more; the amount remaining was <IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=%282%2F5%29x-36 ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"%282%2F5%29x-36\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" ><BR>\n" );
document.write( "(3) He then spent half the remaining amount, leaving him with the other half.  The amount remaining was <IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=%281%2F2%29%28%282%2F5%29x-36%29 ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"%281%2F2%29%28%282%2F5%29x-36%29\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" ><BR>\n" );
document.write( "(4) He then spent another $20; the amount remaining was <IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=%281%2F2%29%28%282%2F5%29x-36%29-20 ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"%281%2F2%29%28%282%2F5%29x-36%29-20\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" ><br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "That amount remaining at the end was $32:<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "<IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=%281%2F2%29%28%282%2F5%29x-36%29-20=32 ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"%281%2F2%29%28%282%2F5%29x-36%29-20=32\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" ><br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "That equation looks messy; but in fact solving it is not very difficult.  However, if there had been more steps of him spending more money, the equation would have been really ugly.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "Usually it is easier to solve a problem like this by working backwards.  Here is what it would look like in this problem.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "He ended with $32 after spending $20, so he had $32+$20 = $52 before that.<BR>\n" );
document.write( "Before that, he spent half his money, so the $52 he had left was half of what he had before.  So before that he had 2*($52) = $104.<BR>\n" );
document.write( "Before that, he spent $36, so before he spent that he had $104+$36 = $140.<BR>\n" );
document.write( "Before that, he spent 3/5 of his money, leaving him with 2/5 of what he had before.  So the $140 he had was 2/5 of what he had before.  The amount he had before was $140*(5/2) = $350.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "He started with $350.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "CHECK:<BR>\n" );
document.write( "start: $350<BR>\n" );
document.write( "spend 3/5 of $350 = $210; left with $140<BR>\n" );
document.write( "spend $36; left with $104<BR>\n" );
document.write( "spend half of $104 = $52; left with $52<BR>\n" );
document.write( "spend $20; left with $32  correct<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "ANSWERS:<BR>\n" );
document.write( "(a) The amount he spent on stationery is given in the statement of the problem: $20<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "(b) At $7 per hour, the number of hours he worked to earn $350 was 350/7 = 50.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( " </SPAN>\n" );
document.write( "</TD></TR></TABLE>\n" );