Dexter wrote the equation below to find the number of hours he would need to work at $10 an hour to save $300. 10x + 160 =300 According to this equation, how much money did Dexter already have saved before he started working?

Mathematics · Middle School · Wed Jan 13 2021

Answered on

Given the statement:

Dexter wrote the equation below to find the number of hours he would need to work at $10 an hour to save $300. 

10x + 160 =300

Determine how much money did Dexter already have saved before working.

Solution:

In order to determine how much money Dexter already have saved before working, we simply need to solve for x in the given equation to find the number of working hours he needed and then subtract it later on. 

10x + 160 =300

Transpose 160 on the other side of the equation, hence we must take note that in transposing a number, the sign changes.

10x + 160 =300 

10x = 300 -160

10x = 140

Divide both sides by 10 in order to get the value of x.

x = 14

Since it is stated that Dexter earns $10 an hour and he's gonna work for 14 hours, this means that he needs $140. Thus, his current savings is $160.

Final answer:

Dexter saved $160 before working.