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I was hoping someone here is good at math, I was given this problem to work at but I am stumped....
A box contains some buttons. 1/4 of them are black, 1/8 of them are red, and the rest are white. There are 48 more white buttons than red buttons.How many buttons are there altogether?
I was wondering if anyone can help or just explain the process =]
you could start off by saying something like,
there are x buttons, x/4 are black... etc.
It took me a few minutes to get it, but here's the answer. There are a total of 96 buttons in that box. To figure it out, first, you figure out that 5/8's of the buttons are white. then you can subtract the 1/8 and end up with 4/8's. Now, this 4/8's is the same as 48 because you have nullified the number of red buttons included. since 48 is half of it, then you multiply by 2 and end up with a grand total of 96. They all work right. You get 12 for the red, 60 for the white, and 24 for the other.
There are a few ways to set up this problem. Basically you just need to turn it into an algabraic equation. If you just say the problem out loud and then write down "mathematically" as you say it, then you shouldn't have any problem.
For example, you know x = buttons
so.... .25x + .125x + (.125x + 48) = x
solve.
x = 96 buttons
EDIT: i_dont_know101.......sorry, we were posting at the same time. :)
No problem mathgirl. lol