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

Answer 1

To solve this problem using the equation b8 + 25 = 500, we need to perform the following operations:

1. Multiply the number of beads used to make each necklace by the number of necklaces: b8.
2. Add the number of beads purchased at the store: b8 + 25.
3. Set the sum equal to the total number of beads Niel ends up with: b8 + 25 = 500.

To find the number of beads Niel started with (b), we need to isolate the variable b. We can do this by subtracting 25 from both sides of the equation:

b8 + 25 - 25 = 500 - 25
b8 = 475

Finally, we divide both sides of the equation by 8 to solve for b:

b8/8 = 475/8
b = 59.375

However, since Niel cannot have a fraction of a bead, we can round down to the nearest whole number:

b ≈ 59

Therefore, Niel started with approximately 59 beads.