SOLUTION: The officers of a math club will pay equal contributions to buy a cake worth $480 for their moderator. If there were two more officers, their contribution will be reduced by $12 ea

Algebra ->  Coordinate Systems and Linear Equations  -> Lessons -> SOLUTION: The officers of a math club will pay equal contributions to buy a cake worth $480 for their moderator. If there were two more officers, their contribution will be reduced by $12 ea      Log On


   

Question 1103857: The officers of a math club will pay equal contributions to buy a cake worth $480 for their moderator. If there were two more officers, their contribution will be reduced by $12 each. How many officers are there?
Answer by Fombitz(32388) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Let there be N officers.
So for each officer it would cost,
480%2FN
Increasing the number by two, the cost would be,
480%2F%28N%2B2%29
So the difference is,
480%2FN-480%2F%28N%2B2%29=12
40%2FN-40%2F%28N%2B2%29=1
40%28N%2B2%29-40N=N%28N%2B2%29
40N%2B80-40N=N%5E2%2B2N
N%5E2%2B2N-80=0
%28N%2B10%29%28N-8%29=0
Only positive solutions for N make sense here.
N-8=0
N=8