Question

James has a job with a current salary of $42,000. He wants to earn a college degree that will take him 2 years to complete and it will cost $28,000 per year. He will go to school full time and will not be able to work. Upon graduation, James' new salary will be $56,000 per year. How many years will it take James to recover his investment?

Answer 1

James's entire investment in his college education is equal to $28,000 x 2, which is $56,000. it will take him 1 year, because 56,000 divided by 56,000 is -Also, I'm not sure if the current salary of $42,000 is extraneous, but here I am assuming that it is, because in those two years James will need money to live. Sometimes math word problems don't think of that though, but there is also the fact that 56,000-42,000=14,000, and 14,000 divided by 56,000 is equal to 0.26923076923, which is only a little more than 1/4 of a year, and is also a very awkward number unless rounded to about 0.27 years. The question sounds as if it is looking for a whole number answer.