Marlee had a certain amount of money (x) in her bank account. She deposited $60.00 from her grandmother for her birthday. She then spent 1/4 of the money in her account on rent that totaled $550.
How much money (x) did Marlee have in her account to begin with?
Let's start by setting up an equation to solve for x, the amount of money Marlee had in her account before her birthday deposit and rent payment:
x + 60 - (1/4)x = 550
First, we combine like terms on the left side of the equation:
(3/4)x + 60 = 550
Next, we isolate the variable term (3/4)x by subtracting 60 from both sides:
(3/4)x = 490
Finally, we solve for x by multiplying both sides by the reciprocal of 3/4:
x = 490 / (3/4)
x = 653.33
Therefore, Marlee had $653.33 in her account to begin with.