Question

Sales for a business were 3 million dollars more the second year than the first, and sales for the third year were double the sales for the second year. If sales for the third year were 38 million dollars, what were sales, in millions of dollars, for the first year?

Answer 1

The answer should/would be 16 million

Answer 2

s(2)=s(1)+3

s(3)=2(s(2)) now they say that s(3)=38 then:

2(s(2))=38

s(2)=19, and from earlier s(2)=s(1)+3 we get:

s(1)+3=19

s(1)=16

So sales for the first year was 16 million dollars.