5/8 of the students in my class were boys.
When 6 girls joined the class, the number of boys equaled the number of girls.
How many students were in my class then?
"What's the formula for this problem?"
b = (5/8) s
so
g = (3/8) s
now g = (3/8) s + 6
and number of students = s + 6
b = 5/8 s = (3/8)s +6
so
(2/8)s = 6
s = 24
that was original s
s+6 = new total = 30
To solve this problem, we don't necessarily need a specific formula. We can use a simple approach to find the solution.
Let's begin by assuming the total number of students in your class is represented by "x."
Given that 5/8 of the students were boys, we can calculate the number of boys in the class as (5/8) * x.
When 6 girls join the class, the number of boys becomes equal to the number of girls. Therefore, we have the equation:
(5/8) * x = (x - (5/8) * x) + 6
Let's solve this equation step by step:
Step 1: Distribute (5/8) to both terms on the right side:
(5/8) * x = x - (5/8) * x + 6
Step 2: Combine like terms on the right side:
(5/8) * x = (8/8) * x - (5/8) * x + 6
Step 3: Simplify fractions:
(5/8) * x = (3/8) * x + 6
Step 4: Subtract (3/8) * x from both sides:
(5/8) * x - (3/8) * x = 6
Step 5: Combine like terms on the left side:
(2/8) * x = 6
Step 6: Simplify fractions:
(1/4) * x = 6
Step 7: Multiply both sides by 4 to isolate x:
x = 4 * 6
x = 24
So, there were 24 students in your class when 6 girls joined.