SOLUTION: Jose sold 1/3 of his books and then bought 16 more. Now he has 36 books. How many books did he start with?

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Question 1044746: Jose sold 1/3 of his books and then bought 16 more. Now he has 36 books. How many books did he start with?
Found 3 solutions by faceoff57, ikleyn, MathTherapy:
Answer by faceoff57(108)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
36=16+1/3x
36-16=1/3x
20=1/3x
60=X

Answer by ikleyn(52777)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
.
Jose sold 1/3 of his books and then bought 16 more. Now he has 36 books. How many books did he start with?
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36 = 16 + 2/3x
36 - 16 = 2/3x
20 = 2/3x
30 = X

Answer by MathTherapy(10551)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!

Jose sold 1/3 of his books and then bought 16 more. Now he has 36 books. How many books did he start with?

Let original number be B
Sold leaves
Bought 16, so now he has:
Solve for B to get original number: