Question

Niel has a bucket of beads. He uses them to make 8 identical necklaces and then buys 25 beads at the store. He ends up with a total of 500 beads. How many did he start with? Identify the operations needed to solve this problem using the equation b8 + 25 = 500
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Answer 1

Interpret the equation as b/8 + 25 = 500 (b divided by 8, then 25 added equals 500).

Operations in the story/equation:
- Divide b by 8 (he makes 8 identical necklaces).
- Add 25 (he buys 25 beads).

To solve for b, undo those operations in reverse order:
1. Subtract 25: b/8 = 500 − 25 = 475.
2. Multiply by 8: b = 475 × 8 = 3800.

So he started with 3,800 beads.