We can create a proportion to find the markup from original price to the marked up price. A proportion is an equation where two ratios are set equal to each other. We create two fractions using the prices and percents. It is marked up by 20% so we pay 120% of $50.
We begin solving by cross multiplying numerator to denominator of each fraction.
Elena could tell without finishing by simplifying both sides. The next step would have been 30x +24x = 30x+24. This would have been simplified down to x=1