Question

Write an expression to represent "a number plus 1/5 of the number." Explain why your expression represents the situation.

Answer 1

The expression to represent "a number plus 1/5 of the number" is 1x + (1/5)x, which simplifies to 1.2x. This is derived by adding a number to one-fifth of itself.

Step-by-step explanation:

To represent "a number plus 1/5 of the number," you can write the expression 1x + (1/5)x, or simply 1.2x. This expression is based on the understanding that when you add a fraction of a number to itself, you are effectively multiplying the number by the sum of 1 and that fraction. In this case, we are looking at 1 (the whole number) plus 1/5 (the fractional portion of the number).

Here's the step-by-step expression:

• Let x represent the unknown number.
• To find 1/5 of this number, multiply x by 1/5: (1/5)x.
• Add this result to the original number: x + (1/5)x.
• Combine like terms to simplify: (1 + 1/5)x = (5/5 + 1/5)x = (6/5)x = 1.2x.