Question

Marcellus is making a deposit that will leave him with a balance of $381. He noticed that if he added $54 to the amount he started with in his account and then tripled the sum, he would get the new amount. How much did Marcellus originally have in his account? Which equation represents the situation?

Answer 1

Explanation:

Let the initial money deposited in the account be x:

If he added $54 to the amount he started with in his account, the expression will become:

x+54

If the sum is tripled, we will have:

3(x+54)

Since the balance an-mount is $381, the final equation will give:

3(x+54) = 381

The equation that represents the situation is 3(x+54) = 381

Next is to calculate x:

3(x+54) = 381

open the parenthesis

3x+162 = 381

3x = 381 - 162

3x = 219

x = 219/3

x = 73

Hence the original amount in his account is $73