40 members of parents organizations are making candles to raise money. 1 member drops out and the rest have to make three more candles each to make up. Each member makes the same number of candles. How many candles do they make altogether?
39x3 whatever that is
40 (n-3) = 39 n
40 n - 120 = 39 n
n = 120 each
39 (120) = 4680
To find out how many candles they make altogether, we need to break down the problem step by step.
Let's start with the initial number of candles they were making. Since there were 40 members at the beginning, each making the same number of candles, let's assume they were making "x" candles each.
Therefore, the initial total number of candles they were making is:
Initial Total Candles = Number of Members × Number of Candles Each
Initial Total Candles = 40 × x
Now, it's mentioned that one member drops out, so now there are 39 members left. To make up for the dropped member's share, the remaining members need to make three more candles each. This means that each member now needs to make "x + 3" candles.
The new total number of candles they make is:
New Total Candles = Number of Members × New Number of Candles Each
New Total Candles = 39 × (x + 3)
We know that the new total number of candles is equal to the initial total number of candles. So we can set up an equation:
New Total Candles = Initial Total Candles
39 × (x + 3) = 40 × x
Now, we can solve this equation to find the value of x, which represents the number of candles each member was initially making:
39x + 39 × 3 = 40x
117 = 40x - 39x
117 = x
Therefore, each member was initially making 117 candles.
To calculate the total number of candles they make altogether, we can substitute this value back into our initial total equation:
Initial Total Candles = 40 × x
Initial Total Candles = 40 × 117
Initial Total Candles = 4680
So, they make a total of 4680 candles altogether.