Karen has used 12 feet of ribbon for a project. This represents 3/8 of the total amount of ribbon. How much ribbon did she have at the start of her project?
(3/8)x = 12
To find out how much ribbon Karen had at the start of her project, we can set up an equation. Let's assume that the total amount of ribbon Karen had at the start is represented by the variable "x".
According to the information given, Karen used 12 feet of ribbon, which represents 3/8 of the total amount.
We can express this relationship as an equation:
12 = (3/8) * x
To isolate the variable, let's multiply both sides of the equation by the reciprocal of 3/8, which is 8/3:
12 * (8/3) = x
Simplifying the equation, we get:
96/3 = x
32 = x
Therefore, Karen had 32 feet of ribbon at the start of her project.