Final answer:
The equation x+3x+x+3x=240 can be simplified by combining like terms to 8x=240. Dividing both sides by 8 gives us x=30, which represents the original number of items a person had before accumulating more to reach a total of 240 items.
Step-by-step explanation:
When looking to write a contextual story for the equation x+3x+x+3x=240, we can think of a situation where a person has a certain number of items, represented by x, and they acquire more of these items in groups three times larger than the original number. By combining these amounts, they end up with a total of 240 items. To solve it, we combine like terms: x and 3x are of the same kind, so we add them together giving us 8x. The equation then simplifies to 8x=240. To find the value of x, we rearrange the equation to isolate x by dividing both sides of the equation by 8, resulting in x=30. This means the person had originally 30 items and acquired an additional 90 items three different times, totaling 240.