Q. Beth had $130 more than Casper at first. After Casper spent $21, Beth had 5 times as much as money as Casper. How much did Beth have?
Initial Equation Setup: Let's denote Beth's initial amount of money as B and Casper's initial amount of money as C. According to the problem, Beth had $130 more than Casper at first. We can write this as an equation:B=C+$130
Casper's Expenditure: After Casper spent $21, his new amount of money is C−$21. At this point, Beth has 5 times as much money as Casper. We can write this as another equation:B=5×(C−$21)
Substitution and Simplification: Now we have two equations with two variables. We can solve these equations simultaneously. From the first equation, we substitute B in the second equation with C+$130:C+$130=5×(C−$21)
Solving for Casper's Amount: Let's solve for C:C+($130)=5C−5×($21)C+($130)=5C−($105)Now, we bring all terms involving C to one side and constants to the other side:($130)+($105)=5C−C($235)=4C
Finding Beth's Amount: Divide both sides by 4 to find the value of C:$235/4=C$58.75=CCasper initially had $58.75.
Finding Beth's Amount: Divide both sides by 4 to find the value of C:$235/4=C$58.75=CCasper initially had $58.75.Now that we know Casper's initial amount, we can find Beth's initial amount using the first equation:B=C+$130B=$58.75+$130B=$188.75Beth initially had $188.75.
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