A book has 8 chapters. You read 3/8 of the book in a week. How much do you have left to read?

Question

A book has 8 chapters.  You read 3/8 of the book in a week.  How much do you have left to read?  Use an equation to find out how much you have left to read.

Answer 1

Hi Sharmi,

 

Let x = # chapters you have left to read

 

And you also know that the amount you have left to read is the total number of chapters minus the amount you already read.

 

The total number of chapters is 8.

 

The amount you already read is 3/8 * 8 = 3.

 

Thus:

 

x = 8 - (3/8 * 8) = 8 - 3 = 5.

 

You have 5 chapters left to read.

 

 

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Let x = the amount you have left to read.

 

So x is equal to the total number of pages (8) minus what you have already read (3/8 of 8)

 

So you could write an equation like this:

 

x = 8 - (3/8)*8