Jerome's teacher gave him a homework assignment on solving equations. Since he's been thinking about saving for a used car, he decided to use the assignment as an opportunity to model a savings plan.
He already has $500, and he plans to save $375 every month. To model the situation, he created this equation, where y represents the total
amount saved for the car and x represents the number of months since he started saving:
500 + 375x=y
He then solved the equation to determine how many months he would need to save to have enough to purchase the car. Review his work, and
select the error.
- 500
Justification
Step 1:
500 + 375x=y
1: given
Step 2: 500 + 375x- 500 = y - 500
2: addition property of equality Step 3:
375x=y- 500
3: simplification
375
4: division property of equality
Step 4:
375 = 375
5: simplification
375
6: substitution, y = 3,500
3,500 - 500
7: simplification
Step 6:
375
Step 7:
X = 8
y - 500
Step 5: