Question

Jillian bought a sweater for $ 8 less than half of its original price. She paid $ 18 for the sweater. How much is the original price?

Answer 1

Let's solve this problem step-by-step.

STEP-BY-STEP SOLUTION:

Let the original price = x

To begin with, we will convert the word problem into an equation as displayed below:

( x / 2 ) - 8 = 18

Now, to find the original price we will simply make ( x ) the subject and solve accordingly as displayed below:

( x / 2 ) - 8 = 18
( x / 2 ) = 18 + 8
( x / 2 ) = 24
x = 24 × 2
x = $48

CHECKING THE ANSWER:

In order to check if the answer is correct, simply substitute the value of x into the original equation and solve. If the left-hand and right-hand side are equivalent, then the answer is correct as displayed below:

( x / 2 ) - 8 = 18
( 48 / 2 ) - 8 = 18
24 - 8 = 18
18 = 18

Therefore, the answer is:

x = $48