Question 887957

This problem is doing my head in and despite trying all the equations I remember, I just cant get it! 
I know it's easy, i just dont know where I am going wrong.... 

Bill earns $4/hour more than Sam, and Sam earns $2/hour more than John. Altogether on a 10 hour day they earn $440, how much does each person earns? 

Thanks in advance
<pre>
You failed to share what you've tried. If you had, one of us might've been able to point out your error.

Let Bill's per-hour earnings be B
Then Sam's is: B - 4
Also, John's is: B - 4 - 2, or B - 6

Since it appears as though EACH worked 10 hours, then we can say that:
10(B) + 10(B - 4) + 10(B - 6) = 440
10B + 10B - 40 + 10B - 60 = 440
30B - 100 = 440
30B = 440 + 100
30B = 540
B, or Bill's per-hour earnings = {{{540/30}}}, or ${{{highlight_green(highlight_green(18))}}}
Sam's per-hour earnings:  18 - 4, or ${{{highlight_green(highlight_green(14))}}} 
John's per-hour earnings: 18 - 6, or ${{{highlight_green(highlight_green(12))}}} 
You can do the check!! 

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