Question 1184394
Johnny had some pears.
 He sold 2/5 of them and then gave another 144 pears to his friend.
 Johnny then had 1/3 of his total pears left.
 How many pears did he have at first?
:
let a = original amt he had
a - {{{2/5}}}a - 144 = {{{1/3}}}a
can use a decimal here
a - .4a - 144 = {{{1/3}}}a
.6a - 144 = {{{1/3}}}a
get rid of the fraction multiply by 3
1.8a - 432 = a
1.8a - a = 432
.8a = 432
a = 432/.8
a = 540 pears originally
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