Hi, to answer this question we have to multiply the number of hours he works (x) by the earnings per hour ($6.50), add the product of the total sales (y) and the percent of sales he gets in decimal form (0.04 = 4/100).
That expression must be equal to the total earnings (e)
First identify what each variable means. since X is the amount of hours he works, and he makes $6.50 an hour, you know you need to multiply those two numbers together creating the 6.50x. You also know Y is his total sales, and he earns 4% of Y. To find 4% of Y you need to turn the percent into a decimal, and to do this you move the decimal two spaces to the left. Since 4 is a whole number, the decimal is after the 4 so you get .04 as your decimal. Then youd multiply .04 by Y getting .04y. Lastly you add 6.50x + .04y to get E, mikes total earnings. So your final equation is
