Question

Ralph earns $72,000 annually as an architect and is paid semimonthly. Alice also earns $72,000 but she is paid biweekly.
a. How many more checks does Alice receive in a year when compared to Ralph?
b. What is the difference between Ralph's semimonthly salary and Alice's biweekly salary? Round to the nearest cent.

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

there are 12 months in a year, and therefore 2×12 = 24 "half-months" and therefore semimonthly payments.

that means each paycheck is

72,000 / 24 = $3,000

there are 52 weeks per year.

that means they're are 52/2 = 26 biweekly periods and therefore payments.

each paycheck is therefore

72,000 / 26 = $2,769.23

so, Alice receives 2 more paychecks (26 to 24) in a year.

the difference between the 2 types of payment is

3000 - 2769.23 = $230.77