A book sold 38,100 copies in its first month of release. Suppose this represents 6.3% of the number of copies sold to date. How many copies have been sold to date?

Answer 1

First, 6.3 % written in decimal form is 0.063

If we use the variable x to represent the total number of copies sold to date, then the 38100 copies would represent 6.3% of that number x.

We can write an equation that represents this problem as:

0.063 • x = 38100

To solve, divide both sides of the equation by 0.063:

0.063 • x = 38100

0.063 0.063

x = 604762 copies

There would have been 604762 total copies sold to date.