This morning, Elena wrote a check in the amount of $42.50. This brought her balance down to –$14.25. Suppose n represents Elena's balance before she wrote the check.

Which equation can be used to represent this situation?

A.
n – 14.25 = 42.50

B.
n + 42.50 = –14.25

C.
n – 42.50 = –14.25

D.
n – 14.25 = –42.50

Question

This morning, Elena wrote a check in the amount of $42.50. This brought her balance down to –$14.25. Suppose n represents Elena's balance before she wrote the check. 
 
Which equation can be used to represent this situation?
 
 A.
n – 14.25 = 42.50
 
 B.
n + 42.50 = –14.25
 
 C.
n – 42.50 = –14.25
 
 D.
n – 14.25 = –42.50

anonymous · Answer

The answer is C. 

Answer A. is a situation where her overall balance after the transaction is equal to 42.50 which her balance was BEFORE the transaction so we can cross that one off.

B is her original balance (n) + 42.50. This means her account gains that much yet it says she wrote a check for that amount and you lose money when you write checks as a general rule of thumb :).

C if you put it into words, is her original balance, minus the amount she wrote a check for and her ending up with £-14.25. Which is exactly what the original statement says.

D is her writing a check for the amount her new balance is which is just weird as if she can predict the future and doesn't work so it isn't D :D