Malik’s weekly pay varies directly to the number of hours he works as a lifeguard. His weekly pay is $246.50 when he works 17 hours. What is his weekly salary when he works 23 hours? Note: Write a direct variation equation representing this situation, where p represents weekly pay and h represents hours worked, then use this equation to answer the question.

The direct variation equation for Malik's weekly pay is:

p = kh

where p is the weekly pay, h is the number of hours worked, and k is the constant of variation. We can find the value of k by substituting the given values for p and h when Malik works 17 hours:

246.50 = k(17)

Now we can solve for k:

k = 246.50/17
k = 14.50

So the equation for Malik's weekly pay is:

p = 14.50h

To find Malik's weekly salary when he works 23 hours, we plug in h = 23 into the equation:

p = 14.50(23)
p = $333.50

Therefore, Malik's weekly salary when he works 23 hours is $333.50.