How many boxes of envelopes can you buy with $12 if one box costs $3?

1 Answer
Nov 15, 2014

To solve this problem one would need to create an algebra expression to represent the cost of the box with the number of boxes in order to determine the total cost of the transaction.

Cost of a box = $3
Number of boxes = n (this is what we are looking for)
Total cost = $12

(Cost of the box) x (Number of boxes) = (Total Cost)

#($3) x (n) = ($12)#

#3n = 12#

#(3n)/3 = 12/3# to isolate the #n# divide by 3 on both sides

#n = 4#

You can buy 4 boxes with $12 if the boxes cost $3 each.