Let x be the number of hours the master electrician works and y the numbers of hours his apprentice works.
The master electrician earns $62 per hour, which means that he earns 62x.
His apprentice earns $40 per hour, which means that he earns 40y.
Together they are paid $492, so we can get the equation:
62x + 40y = 492.
We know that the electrician worked 3 hours more than his apprentice. So he worked x = y + 3 hours. Now let's replace x by its new value in the previous equation.
62x + 40y = 492
62(y+3) + 40y = 492
62y + 186 + 40y = 492
Now we need to put variables apart and numbers apart, so we subtract 186 from both sides of the equation:
62y + 40y + 186 - 186 = 492 - 186
102y = 306
Now we divide both sides by 102
(102y)/102 = 306/102
y = 3
So the apprentice worked 3 hours.
As we already mentioned, the electrician worked 3 hours more than his apprentice.
So he worked x = y + 3 = 3+3 = 6 hours.
The master electrician earns $62 per hour. Since he worked 6 hours, he earns 62 * 6 = 372 dollars.
So the master electrician earns $372 (Option D)
Hope this helps! :)
