Members of a boating club were assessed equally to raise $600 to pay for a new set of sails. When six more persons joined the club, the per member assessment was reduced by $5.00. What was the new size of the club?
Let new size be M
Then original size = M - 6
Now, each member pays: , and originally, each member paid:
We then get the following equation, which describes the per-member payment, now and before:
600(M - 6) = 600M - 5M(M - 6) --------- Multiplying by LCD, M(M - 6)
(M - 30)(M + 24) = 0
M, or new size = OR M = - 24 (ignore)