Question

A garden table and a bench cost $600 combined. The cost of the garden table is three times the cost of the bench. What is the cost of the bench?

Answer 1

This is how I'd solve it:

bench = x           x+3x=600 
table = 3x               4x=600
                                 x=150

The bench costs $150 and the table costs $450; combined, they cost $600, so it's correct. I hope this helps you!

Answer 2

$200 
the bench is 200 and the garden table is three times as much as the bench so 200 times 3 is $600