Shopping  While shopping for​ clothes, Tracy spent ​$45 less than 3 times what Curtis spent. Tracy spent ​$33. Write and solve an equation to find how much Curtis spent. Let x represent how much Curtis spent.

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Part 1
The equation that can be used to determine how much Curtis has spent is

3
33
45
xminus

3
45
33
equals

33
45
3
.

1 answer

To set up the equation, we know the relationship between what Tracy and Curtis spent based on the information given.

  1. Tracy spent $33.
  2. According to the problem, Tracy spent $45 less than 3 times what Curtis spent.

This can be expressed with the equation:

\[ 3x - 45 = 33 \]

where \( x \) represents how much Curtis spent.

Solve for \( x \):

  1. Add 45 to both sides: \[ 3x - 45 + 45 = 33 + 45 \] \[ 3x = 78 \]

  2. Divide both sides by 3: \[ x = \frac{78}{3} \] \[ x = 26 \]

So, Curtis spent $26.