Jose put 1/2 of his money in the bank. He spent 1/3 of his remaining money on books. He has $18 left. How much did he start with? Show work, please.

Question

igreen · Answer

Try working backwards.

igreen · Answer

$\sf \dfrac{1}{3}$ of the money was spent on books..so divide 18 by 1/3, or multiply by its reciprocal, 3.

igreen · Answer

Tell me what you get.

welshfella · Answer

let  him start with x dollars
1/2 in bank  = ( 1/2) x
1/3 of the remaining  = (1/3) * (1/2) * x = 1/6  x

so 
x - ( 1/2) x - (1/6)x = 18

solve for x

welshfella · Answer

x - (2/3) x = 18
can you continue?

anonymous · Answer

IGreen, i divided 18 by 1/3, and i got 6. What do i do now?

anonymous · Answer

IGreen, i divided 18 by 1/3, and i got 6. What do i do now?

welshfella · Answer

18  /  1/3 is not 6
when diving fractions invert the divisor and multiply
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