Question

Emiliano sold half of his comic books and then bought 16 more.He now has 36. How many did he begin with? Write and equation to represent the problem.

Answer 1

N = original number of comic books

N/2 = number of comic books after he sold half of his collection

N/2 + 16 = number of comic books after he bought 16 more

N/2 + 16 = 36

Solving for N:

`(N)/(2)+16\text{ = 36}\Longrightarrow(N)/(2)=36-16\text{ = 20 }\Longrightarrow(N)/(2)=20\Longrightarrow N\text{ = 20 }\cdot\text{ 2=40}\Longrightarrow\text{ N = 40}`

Answers:

He began with 40 comic books

Equation to represent the problem: N/2 + 16 = 36