Real-Life Math -- Solution
Sweden
At 90 percent of her salary
for 9 months and $150 a month for the next 3 months, how much would the librarian
earn in the first year?
Earnings = [($27,000 per year / 12 months
per year) x 9 months] x 0.90 + ($150 x 3)
Earnings = [$2,250 per month
x 9 months] x 0.90 + $450
Earnings = $20,250 x 0.90 + $450
Earnings
= $18,225 + $450
Earnings = $18,675
She would earn $18,675 in
the first year of her child's life, and she would be at home with her
child the whole year.
Germany
At 100 percent of
her salary for 3 months, $285 a month for the next 4 months, and then, after
returning to work, 100 percent of her salary for 5 months, how much would
the librarian earn in the first year of her child's life?
Earnings
= [($27,000 per year / 12 months per year) x 3 + ($285 x 4)] + ($27,000 per
year / 12 months per year x 5)
Earnings = [$2,250 x 3 + $1,140] + ($2,250
x 5)
Earnings = [$6,750 + $1,140] + $11,250
Earnings = $7,890 + $11,250
Earnings
= $19,140
The librarian would earn $19,140 in the first year of
her child's life. But she would have only stayed home for 4 months, not
a full year as she would in the first scenario.