In a box of paper clips,3/8 of them are white,5/12 of them are red, and the rest are blue. There are 24 more red paper clips than white paper clips. How many paper clips are there in the box?
If there are x in the box, then
5/12 x = 3/8 x + 24
Multiply by 24 and you have
10x = 9x+576
x = 576
Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
To find the total number of paper clips in the box, we need to determine the number of white and red paper clips and then add them together.
Let's assume the total number of paper clips in the box is represented by the variable "x."
Given that 3/8 of the paper clips are white, we can express this as (3/8)x. Similarly, 5/12 of the paper clips are red, so we can express this as (5/12)x.
According to the problem, there are 24 more red paper clips than white paper clips. This can be written as:
(5/12)x = (3/8)x + 24
To simplify this equation, we need to find a common denominator for the fractions. The common denominator for 8 and 12 is 24.
Multiplying through by 24, we get:
5x = 3x + 24 * 24
Simplifying further, we have:
2x = 576
To solve for x, we divide both sides of the equation by 2:
x = 576 / 2
x = 288
Therefore, there are 288 paper clips in the box.