SOLUTION: Ref. Question 1175744: Re-worded first statement. One third of an amount is added to the account yearly. $5000 is deducted from account for expenses at end of year. At t

Algebra ->  Customizable Word Problem Solvers  -> Misc -> SOLUTION: Ref. Question 1175744: Re-worded first statement. One third of an amount is added to the account yearly. $5000 is deducted from account for expenses at end of year. At t      Log On

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Question 1175864: Ref. Question 1175744:
Re-worded first statement.
One third of an amount is added to the account yearly.
$5000 is deducted from account for expenses at end of year. At the end of 3 years, after deducting final $5000, the account has twice original amt. Determine original amt.

$15000 total deducted.
Unsure how to solve.

Answer by greenestamps(13200) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!


This still doesn't make sense....

Are you stating the problem exactly as it was given to you? That is very possible; a LOT of people who write math problems don't know how to write English....

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There is no statement about how much money is in the account originally; call it x.

Each year, one-third of some (other) amount is added, and $5000 is deducted. Call that other amount y; then the change in the total amount each year is +(1/3)y-$5000.

That is done for 3 years. The total change over three years is +y-$15,000.

The total at the end of the three years is twice the original amount:

x+(y-15000) = 2x

We can't do anything with that without more information. The single equation in two variables has an infinite number of solutions....

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It seems having an opening statement that says "One third of an amount is added to the account yearly" is starting in the middle of the problem. For the problem to make sense, we need to know what the original state of the account was.