An employee currently earning $13.85 per hour has been awarded a 3.5 percent merit raise. What will the employee's hourly salary be with this increase?

13.85 * 1.035

1433475

To calculate the employee's new hourly salary with the merit raise, you need to add the merit raise amount to their current salary.

Here's how you can do it:

Step 1: Calculate the merit raise amount.
Multiply the current hourly salary by the merit raise percentage (in decimal form).
Merit raise amount = Current hourly salary * Merit raise percentage

In this case:
Merit raise amount = $13.85 * 0.035

Step 2: Calculate the new hourly salary.
Add the merit raise amount to the current hourly salary.
New hourly salary = Current hourly salary + Merit raise amount

In this case:
New hourly salary = $13.85 + Merit raise amount

Now let's calculate the merit raise amount and the new hourly salary:

Merit raise amount = $13.85 * 0.035 = $0.48475 (rounded to $0.485)
New hourly salary = $13.85 + $0.485 = $14.335 (rounded to $14.34)

Therefore, the employee's new hourly salary with the 3.5 percent merit raise will be $14.34 per hour.