a framer divides his herd of cows anong his 4 sons, one get 1/2, second get 1/4, 3rd gets 1/5 and the 4th get 7. how many cows are in the herd?
x/2 + x/4 + x/5 + 7 = x
multiply each term by 20 and solve, it's easy from there.
thank you for your help.i got 26 as the answer. i am not sure if this is correct. i am only in the 7th grade and this is the first time i am doing this kind of problem. could you please explain a little more.
ok, let's do it without algebra
so far he has given away 1/2, 1/4 and 1/5 of the herd
1/2 + 1/4 + 1/5
= 10/20 + 5/20 + 4/20
= 19/20 of the herd, leaving 1/20
but it said the 4th son get 7 cows, so he must have received 1/20
then if 1/20 equals 7 then
20/20 , or the whole herd, must have been 20x7 or 140 cows
check:
1/2 of 140 = 70
1/4 of 140 = 35
1/5 of 140 = 28
sum of 70+35+28+7 = 140
oooooooooooooooo that makes alot more sense, thank you!
To find the total number of cows in the herd, we need to add up the fractions of cows that each son receives.
Let's assign variables to represent the number of cows. Let's assume the total number of cows is represented by "x" and go step by step to solve the problem:
The first son receives 1/2 of the cows, which can be represented as (1/2)x.
The second son receives 1/4 of the cows, which can be represented as (1/4)x.
The third son receives 1/5 of the cows, which can be represented as (1/5)x.
The fourth son receives 7 cows, which can be represented as 7.
Adding these fractions together, we have the equation:
(1/2)x + (1/4)x + (1/5)x + 7 = x
To simplify the equation, we'll find a common denominator for the fractions:
(5/10)x + (2/10)x + (2/10)x + 7 = x
Combining like terms, we have:
(9/10)x + 7 = x
To isolate x on one side of the equation, we'll subtract (9/10)x from both sides:
7 = (1/10)x
To solve for x, we'll multiply both sides of the equation by 10:
70 = x
Therefore, there are 70 cows in the herd.