David inherited some money from his uncle. He invested half of the money with Bernie Madoff, lost one-quarter of it due to identity theft, spent one-ninth at a

Question

David inherited some money from his uncle. He invested half of the money with Bernie Madoff, lost one-quarter of it due to identity theft, spent one-ninth at a casino and used the remaining $75,000 to buy a car. How much money did David inherit?

Answer 1

Let M = amount inherited

 

We subtracted M/2 in investment

We subtracted M/4 due to identity theft

We subtracted M/9 due to casino

We then had $75,000 left to buy a car

 

M - M/2 - M/4 - M/9 = 75000

 

Multiply through by 36 to clear fractions

 

36M - 18M - 9M - 4M = 2,700,000

5M = 2,700,000

M = 2,700,000/5

M = $540,000

Answer 2

Translate the words into an equation:

 

X = .5X + .25X + X/9 + 75,000

X - .861111X = 75,000

 

X = 540,000