Question

Samuel spends $11.25.

There are 12 paperback mysteries on a shelf.
This is 40% of the books on the shelf. Write
and solve an equation to find the number of
books on the shelf. Show your work.
2

Answer 1

Answer: 30 books - 12 ÷ 0.4 = x

Explanation:

Let x be the total number of books on the shelf. We know that there are 12 paperback mysteries on the shelf, which is 40% of the total number of books.

We can write this information as an equation:

12 = 0.4x

To solve for x, we need to isolate x on one side of the equation. We can start by dividing both sides by 0.4:

12 ÷ 0.4 = x

Simplifying the left side, we get:

30 = x

Therefore, the total number of books on the shelf is 30.