Meg works 5 1/2 hours and earned $52.25. Adam makes a hourly rate that is proportional and earns $71.25, how many hours did he work?

Determine Meg's hourly rate which is also equal to Adam's hourly rate. We calculate for it by dividing the amount earned by the number of hours.

hourly rate = (52.25) / 5.5 = $9.5/h

Since Adam earns $71.25, we determine the number of hours he worked.

71.25 = (9.5/h) (t)

The value of t from the equation is 7.5. Thus, Adam worked for 7.5 hours.