Question

Write a real-life situation to fit the following equation. Then, solve the equation in two different ways. Show all the steps. Finally, choose which solution method you liked best and explain your reason. 8(x+9)=144 In one short sentence

Answer 1

Real-life situation: A store is selling t-shirts for $8 each and is having a sale where if you buy a certain number of t-shirts, the total price will be $144.

First solution method: Distributing and isolating variables
8(x+9)=144
8x + 72 = 144
8x = 144 - 72
8x = 72
x = 72/8
x = 9

Second solution method: Subtracting and dividing
8(x+9)=144
8x + 72 = 144
8x = 144 - 72
8x = 72
x = 72 ÷ 8
x = 9

I liked both solution methods equally because they both yielded the same result and involved simple arithmetic operations. However, the second method may be slightly preferred as it involves one less step (subtracting instead of distributing) and could be slightly faster.