Question

b. john and brenda both recently graduated from hightower university and started jobs as civil engineers at buildit construction company.
meet john
● john graduated with no student debt, thanks to financial aid and his familys support.
● john has a savings account with $1417
● johns annual salary is $88,570 (the median for civil engineers).
● after taxes, his take - home pay is $5,615 per month.
meet brenda
● brenda graduated with $10,000 in student debt, thanks to financial aid and a part - time job
● brenda has a savings account with $430.
● brendas annual salary is $59,342 (black women, including brenda, earn 67% of what white men make on average)
● after taxes, brendas take - home pay is $3,900
● both save 20% of their take - home pay

1. calculate how much john saves each month.
2. write an equation that represents johns savings account balance, y, after x months.

Explanation:

Step1: Calculate John's monthly savings

John's take - home pay is $5615 per month. He saves 20% of it. To find 20% of a number, we multiply the number by 0.2.

$$5615\times0.2$$

Step2: Compute the value

$$5615\times0.2 = 1123$$

Step3: Formulate the equation for John's savings balance

John starts with $1479 in his savings account. Each month he adds $1123. The general form of a linear equation is \(y=mx + b\), where \(m\) is the slope (rate of change) and \(b\) is the y - intercept (initial value). Here, \(m = 1123\) (monthly savings) and \(b=1479\) (initial amount in savings).

$$y = 1123x+1479$$

Answer:

1. John saves $1123 each month.
2. The equation for John's savings account balance \(y\) after \(x\) months is \(y = 1123x + 1479\)