Question

After college graduation, Mario received employment offers from two companies. The first company offered a yearly salary of $31,000 with an annual raise of $1,500 and the second company offered a starting salary of $28,500 with an annual raise of $2,000. How many years will it take for the salaries to be the same?

Answer 1

The first thing we must do for this case is to define a variable:
 x: number of years
 y: total salary
 We have then:
 For first company:
 y = 1500x + 31000
 For second company:
 y = 2000x + 28500
 Equaling both equations we have:
 1500x + 31000 = 2000x + 28500
 Clearing x:
 2000x - 1500x = 31000 - 28500
 500x = 2500
 x = 2500/500
 x = 5
 Answer:
 It will take for the salaries to be the same about:
 x = 5 years