How many strawberries are there in the fruit shop now?

Question

last week, the ratio of the number of cherries to strawberries in a fruit store was 6:1. This week, there are 85 more strawberries in the store. There are now 3 times as many strawberries as cherries.

How many strawberries are there in the fruit shop now?

 

Answer 1

Let the original number of strawberries be x.

 

So originally the number of cherries was 6x.

 

Then they added 85 strawberries (and no extra cherries), so the new number of strawberries was x + 85.

 

So now 6x, the number of cherries, is 3 times the number of strawberries, x +  85.

 

Putting that into an equation, you get:

 

6x = 3 (x + 85)

 

Simplify:

6x = 3x + 255

 

Subtract 3x from both sides

3x = 255

 

Divide by 3:

x = 85.

 

So 85 was the ORIGINAL number of strawberries, since that's how we defined x

 

So 85 + 85 = 170 is the NEW number of strawberries.