Question

The question says: Derek is peeling potatoes for his large scout troop. He needs to peel a total of 85 potatoes. If he peels two potatoes in a minute, and he has already peeled 13 potatoes, how much longer will it take for him to complete the task of peeling 85 potatoes?

Answer 1

Derek needs to peel 85 potatoes. He's able to peel 2 potatoes each minute. Let x be the number of minutes Derek took to peel the potatoes, using the equation:
85 = 2x.
Derek has already peeled 13 potatoes, so that's 13 less. The equation is now:
85 - 13 = 2x
72 = 2x

We need to solve for x.
Let's divide both sides by 2 to have the variable x on a side and its value on the other.
72/2 = (2x)/2
36 = x.

So it will take Derek 36 MORE minutes to finish peeling all his potatoes.

Hope this helps! :D