Question

There are 5 times as many pens in box a as in box b Tom moves 76 pens from box a to box b

They both have the same amount of pens
How many in box a

Answer 1

Given that,

Let's assume there are x pens in box B.

Now, there will be 5x pens in box A.(Because there are 5 times as many pens in box A than in box B).

They had the same number of pens when Tom moves 76 pens from box A to box B.

So, after moving 76 pens from box A to box B:

Box A contains 5x-76 pens.

Box B contains x+76.

Now, Box A and Box B have the same number of pens.

We have to equate the number of pens in both boxes:

5x-76=x+76

4x=152

x=38

5x=190

Box A has 190 pens.

Answer 2

Explanation:

This is a system of equations problem. The first equation comes from the fact that there are 5 times as many pens in box a as there are in box b; that means that if we multiply the amount in b by 5, it will be equal to what's in a:

a = 5b

That's the first equation. The second one comes from when 76 pens are moved from box a to box b. They are equal when this happens; therefore:

a - 76 = b

Using substitution:

5b - 76 = b and

4b = 76. Therefore,

b = 19.

If a = 5b, then a = 5(19) which gives us that there are 95 pens in box a.