Matthew currently has enough money to buy 45 toy cars. If the cost of each car was 10 cents less, Matthew could buy 5 more cars. How much money does Matthew have to spend on toy cars?

Question

whpalmer4 · Answer

let $p$ be the price of a car, in cents.  He has enough to buy 45 cars, so he has 45p.  Now to nail down the value of p, we also know that 45p = (45+5)(p-10), because he can afford 5 more cars if each one costs 10 cents less, or p-10.

$$45p = (45+5)(p-10)$$$$45p = 50(p-10)$$

whpalmer4 · Answer

Use the distributive property on that, then solve for $p$.  When you have $p$, multiply it by 45 to find out how much money he has.

cruffo · Answer

Keep in mind that your answer will be in cents, not dollars :)