how to find out the cost of a meal

Question

with a party of 4 equally divides the meal with the tip at 20 percent. How do I find out much the meal was and the tip

Answer 1

use a specific example

say the total bill was $120.

tip was 20%, so before tip price was $100

4 people means 100/4 = $25 each for a meal

tip was $20

now generalize

total bill = x dollars

tip was 20% so the before tip price was x/1.2

divide by 4, mean per person = x/4.8

if x= 120, then before tip cost = 120/1.2 = $100

divide by 4 = $25 meal cost per person