Joe told mickey he got an hourly raise at work and his new rate will be $10.25 per hour. mickey wants to know what joe’s hourly rate was before his raise. if r represents the amount of the raise, which expression represents joe’s hourly rate before his raise?

Joe got an hourly raise at work and his new rate will be $10.25 per hour. 
If r represents the amount of the raise, then the following equation can be written:
X=10.25-r
where X is Joe’s hourly rate was before his raise.
Joe was paid (10.25-r) USD per hour before he got a raise.