Joe and his co-worker Mark are sale workers. Together, their sales are $1800 on a holiday weekend. Joe’s sales is 4 times that of Mark’s sales, plus $120 more. What is the sales amount for each?

Question

Solve the problem in three ways by:

1. Using a visual representation to show thinking process and solve the problem. Explain why.
2. Solve the problem using computational strategies. Explain why.
3. Create a similar word problem in a different situation and solve it. Explain why.

Answer 1

m represents Mark's sales

4m + 120 represents Joe's sales

m + 4m = 120 = 1800

Can you solve for m and answer?