A shop experienced a 14.2% fall in takings in February, compared to the previous month. Their takings in February were £742,513.20. How much did they take in January?

Question

mathstudent55 · Answer

Assume a variable for the takings of January.
Let x = takings of January.

harvey03 · Answer

Okay...

phi · Answer

say the amount in jan is x
we know if we subtract off 14.2% of x  (from x) we get Feb's amount

in other words:
x - 0.142x = 742,513.20
(notice we change 14.2%  to 14.2/100  -- that is what % is short for -- or ,as a decimal 0.142)

we have 1x - 0.142x or (1-0.142)x on the left side
in other words:
0.858 x = 742513.20

divide both sides by 0.858 to "solve for x"