The value of a professional basketball player's autographed basketball rose 10% in the last year. It is now worth $253. What was it worth a year ago?

Answer 1

Let the value of the basketball a year ago be \( x \).

Since the value increased by 10%, we can express the relationship as follows:

\[ x + 0.10x = 253 \]

This simplifies to:

\[ 1.10x = 253 \]

To find \( x \), we divide both sides by 1.10:

\[ x = \frac{253}{1.10} \]

Now, calculating the right side:

\[ x = \frac{253}{1.10} = 230 \]

Thus, the value of the basketball a year ago was \( \boxed{230} \).