Difficult Percentage Question

[Guest]

I have a math question. I know the answer, but I cannot figure out the equation to get to the answer.

There are 2 employees. One gets paid 15 percent less than the other. The total wages are $700. How can I figure out the wages of each employee.

[Guest]

Let the wage of the first employee be x.
The second is paid 15% less or x - x*15% = x - 0.15x = 0.85x

And the total is $700 or
x + 0.85x = 700
1.85x = 700
x = 700/1.85 = 378.38
is paid the first employee.

The second one is \$700 - \$378.38 = \$321.62