For work problems a good approach is to utilize the following equation for starters: Rate * Time = Work.
Since we have two machines with different rates, lets map down what information we have
Rate X: x
Rate Y: x*1.5
Hours X and Y: 24
Work X: x*24
Work Y: x*24 + 48,000
I can think of two different ways of approaching this question, using mostly the same calculations but different thought processes.
Fill out the equation for Machine Y and solve for x
x*1.5 * 24 = 24x + 48,000
Divide by 24
x*1.5 = x + 2,000
Subtract x
x*0.5 = 2,000
Multiply by 2
x = 4,000
Calculate the difference
We know that the "Work" for X is x * 24 and "Work" for Y is x * 24 + 48,000. If we subtract Work for X from Work from Y we get the following:
Difference = x * 24 + 48,000- x*24 = 48,000
We also know that this is the difference per 24 hours, so lets divide by 24 to get the difference per hour
Difference per hour = 48,000 / 24 = 2,000
The difference per hour is the same as the rate for Y - the rate for X, which we defined before we started solving the question.
1.5x - x = 0.5x = 2,000
Now we just multiply this by two to get x.
0,5x*2 = x = 2,000 * 2 = 4,000