Mark bought 8 boxes a week later half of all his boxes were destroyed in a fire there are now only 20 boxes left with how many did he start? Let it b represent how many boxes he started with

Equation or inequality:

Mark began with:

9514 1404 393

Step-by-step explanation:

Let s represent the number Mark started with. After buying 8 more, he then had s+8. After the fire, he had ...

  (1/2)(s +8) = 20

This equation can be solved by multiplying by 2, then subtracting 8.

  s +8 = 40

  s = 32

Mark began with 32 boxes.

d

gimmee one of those gold crowns!

~coco