Question

Daniel sold half of his comic books and then bought sixteen more . He now has 37 . With how many did he begin with?

Answer 1

42 books

Explanation:

Answer 2

42 comic books

Explanation:

We can write an equation for this. Let x be the original amount of comic books.

`(x)/(2)` + 16 = 37

Now that we have our equation, we can start solving it. Our goal is to get x by itself. Let's first move the 16 to the right of the equals sign. Remember, "change side, change sign."

`(x)/(2)` = 37 - 16

Subtract.

`(x)/(2)` = 21

Now, we can see that x is being divided by 2. To get x by itself, we must also multiply it by 2. We also have to multiply the 21 by 2 because what you do to one side of the equation, you must do to the other.

2 ·
`(x)/(2)` = 21 · 2

The 2's on the left side will cancel each other out, leaving us with x.

x = 21 · 2

Multiply.

x = 42