Question

Three students that share a townhouse find that their electric bill for October is $2.65 less than the September bill. The total of both bills is $174.65, and eachbill is split evenly among the roommates. How much did each owe in September?

Answer 1

Let the electric bill for September be x.

October's bill is $2.65 less than the September bill

This means that October's bill = x - 2.65

September + october bill = $174.65

That means that x + x - 2.65 = 174.65

Now let's find x which is september's bill

`\begin{gathered} x+x-2.65=174.65 \\ 2x-2.65=174.65 \\ 2x=174.65+2.65 \\ 2x=177.3 \\ x=(177.3)/(2) \\ \\ x=88.65 \end{gathered}`

So September's bill is $88.65, now each student pays

`\begin{gathered} (88.65)/(3) \\ \\ =\text{ 29.55} \end{gathered}`

So each student owe $29.55 for the month of September