In a newspaper, it was reported that yearly robberies in Springfield were down 15% to 136 in 2014 from 2013. How many robberies were there in Springfield in 2013?

Answer 1

To find out how many robberies were there in Springfield in 2013, we can let \( x \) be the number of robberies in 2013. According to the problem, the number of robberies decreased by 15% to reach 136 in 2014. This can be expressed with the equation:

\[ x - 0.15x = 136 \]

We can simplify the left side of the equation:

\[ 0.85x = 136 \]

Next, we will solve for \( x \) by dividing both sides by 0.85:

\[ x = \frac{136}{0.85} \]

Calculating the right side gives:

\[ x = 160 \]

Thus, the number of robberies in Springfield in 2013 was \( \boxed{160} \).