Sonya, who is paid time and a half for hours worked in excess of 40 hours, had gross weekly wages $725 for 52 hours worked. What is her regular hourly rate?

Answer: her regular hourly rate is $12.5

Step-by-step explanation:

Let x represent the regular payment that Sonya receives per hour for the first 40 hours of work. This means that her total pay for the first 40 hours of work is

40 * x = $40x

Sonya is paid time and a half for hours worked in excess of 40 hours. This means that her hourly pay for working more than 40 hours would be x + 0.5x = $1.5x

She worked for 52 hours. This means that the extra hours that she worked is

52 - 40 = 12 hours

Total pay for 12 extra hours is

12 * 1.5x = 18x

If she had gross weekly wages of $725, then

40x + 18x = 725

58x = 725

x = 725/58 = $12.5