Question

Edison’s employee matches 20% of Edison’s contributions to his 401(k) plan. If Edison’s employer contributed $700 to the plan last year, how much did Edison contribute to the plan last year?

Answer 1

$3500.

Explanation:

Let x be the amount contributed by Edison to his 401(k) plan.

We have been given that Edison’s employee matches 20% of Edison’s contributions to his 401(k) plan. Edison’s employer contributed $700 to the plan last year.

To find the Edison's contribution we need to find x such that 20% of x equals 700. We can represent this information in an equation as:

`20\%\text{ of }x=700`

`(20)/(100)*x=700`

`0.20*x=700`

Let us divide both sides of our equation by 0.20.

`(0.20*x)/(0.20)=(700)/(0.20)`

`x=3500`

Therefore, Edison contributed $3500 to the plan last year.