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Mark the number of minutes spent packing the boxes as x. Describe Selma's and Trudy's number of packed boxes in terms of x to make an equation.
105
Selma's class is making care packages to give to victims of a natural disaster. We are told that Selma packs one box in 5 minutes and she has already packed 12 boxes. Her friend Trudy packs one box in 7 minutes and has already packed 18 boxes. We want to find the number of minutes both girls need to work in order to have packed the same number of boxes. Let's start with defining x.
x - & the number of minutes spent packing
&the boxes
Let's now express Selma's and Trudy's number of packed boxes in terms of x. Selma packs a box every 5 minutes, so we can assume that she packs 15 of a box every 1 minute. She has already packed 12 boxes, so her amount of packed boxes will be x multiplied by 15 plus 12.
LHS- 1/7x=RHS- 1/7x
Subtract term
a/b=a * 7/b * 7
a/b=a * 5/b * 5
Subtract fractions
LHS- 12=RHS- 12
Subtract terms
LHS * 35/2=RHS* 35/2
Multiply fractions
a/b=a* 1/b
Calculate quotient
Selma and Trudy will both have to work for 105 more minutes in order to have packed the same number of boxes.