John’s mother gave him some money to buy some brushes. If he bought 7 brushes, he would need $2 more. If he bought 10 brushes, he would need $26 more. How much did John have?
$26 - $2 = $24
10 - 7 = 3
3 brushes —> $24
1 brush —> $24 / $3 = $8
7 brushes —> 7 * $8 = $56
$56 - $2 = $54
John had $54.
To find out how much money John had, we can use the information given in the problem.
From the first statement, we know that if John bought 7 brushes, he would need $2 more. This means that the cost of 7 brushes is $2 less than the total amount John has.
From the second statement, we know that if John bought 10 brushes, he would need $26 more. This means that the cost of 10 brushes is $26 more than the total amount John has.
To find out the cost of 3 brushes (the difference between 10 brushes and 7 brushes), we subtract the difference in the total amounts required for 10 brushes and 7 brushes: $26 - $2 = $24.
Next, we divide $24 by 3 (the number of brushes in the difference) to find out the cost of 1 brush: $24 / 3 = $8.
Now that we know the cost of 1 brush, we can calculate the total cost of 7 brushes by multiplying it by 7: 7 * $8 = $56.
Finally, to find out how much money John had before buying the brushes, we subtract $2 (the extra amount needed for 7 brushes) from the total cost of 7 brushes: $56 - $2 = $54.
Therefore, John had $54 before buying the brushes.