Molly has 6 grandchildren. She likes to be fair and buy gifts for all of them at the same time. She found jigsaw puzzles, each discounted by 50¢. Find the original cost of each puzzle if she spent a total of $27.(

3 answers

To find the original cost of each puzzle, we first determine how much Molly spent on each puzzle after the discount.

Let \( x \) be the original cost of each puzzle. Since the puzzles are discounted by $0.50, the cost of each puzzle after the discount is:

\[ x - 0.50 \]

Molly has 6 grandchildren, so she buys 6 puzzles. The total amount she spent on the puzzles is $27. Therefore, we can set up the equation:

\[ 6(x - 0.50) = 27 \]

Next, we can distribute the 6:

\[ 6x - 3 = 27 \]

Now, we add 3 to both sides of the equation:

\[ 6x = 30 \]

Next, we divide both sides by 6 to solve for \( x \):

\[ x = 5 \]

Thus, the original cost of each puzzle is:

\[ \boxed{5} \text{ dollars.} \]

To verify, if the original price is $5, then the discounted price is:

\[ 5 - 0.50 = 4.50 \]

If Molly buys 6 puzzles at the discounted price:

\[ 6 \times 4.50 = 27 \]

This confirms that the calculations are correct. Therefore, the original cost of each puzzle is indeed \( \boxed{5} \) dollars.

were the hell did you get 3

I apologize for any confusion in my explanation. Let’s clarify and go through the steps more clearly.

  1. Let \( x \) be the original cost of each puzzle.

  2. After the $0.50 discount, the cost of each puzzle becomes \( x - 0.50 \).

  3. Molly bought 6 puzzles, so the total amount she spent can be represented as:

    \[ 6(x - 0.50) = 27 \]

  4. Now, we need to distribute the 6:

    \[ 6x - 3 = 27 \]

    Here, \( 6 \times -0.50 = -3 \) is where the '3' comes from.

  5. Next, we add 3 to both sides to isolate the term with \( x \):

    \[ 6x = 30 \]

  6. Finally, divide by 6 to solve for \( x \):

    \[ x = 5 \]

So the original cost of each puzzle is $5.

Thank you for pointing out the need for clarity, and I hope this explanation helps!