Emily had a book report due Friday, and she predicted how many minutes it would take her to finish. She spent 50 minutes doing the book report. Her prediction was 20% lower than that. How long had Emily predicted the report would take her?

Solution

E mi l y ha d a b oo k re p or t d u e F r i d a y, an d s h e p re d i c t e d h o w man y min u t es i t w o u l d t ak e h er t o f ini s h . S h e s p e n t 50 min u t es d o in g t h e b oo k re p or t . Her p re d i c t i o n w a s 20% l o w er t han t ha t . Ho w l o n g ha d E mi l y p re d i c t e d t h e re p or t w o u l d t ak e h er ?

Amount after reduction : 40

Solution steps

Translate the problem into an equation:

x = 50 - 0.2 \cdot 50

x = 50 - 0.2 \cdot 50 : x = 40

Amount after reduction : 40