Question

Tom bought x boxes of granola bars to bring to a party. Each box contains 8 granola bars. He decides to keep two boxes for himself. He brings 32 granola bars to the party. Write an equation and solve to find the number of boxes, x, Tom bought.

Answer 1

Tom bought 6 boxes of granola bars. We derived this by setting up the equation (x - 2) * 8 = 32, solving for x, and finding that x equals 6.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the number of boxes, x, that Tom bought, we need to set up an equation. Since Tom kept two boxes for himself and each box contains 8 granola bars, we can express the total number of granola bars he brought to the party as (x - 2) × 8. We are given that this amount equals 32 granola bars.

The equation representing the situation is:

(x - 2) × 8 = 32

To solve for x:

1. Divide both sides by 8 to isolate (x - 2):
2. (x - 2) = 32 ÷ 8
3. (x - 2) = 4
4. Add 2 to both sides to solve for x:
5. x = 4 + 2
6. x = 6

Therefore, Tom bought 6 boxes of granola bars.