Question

Serenity picked 75% of the apples of a tree in her backyard. If she picked 30 apples, how many apples were on the tree to begin with?

Answer 1

Given:

Serenity picked 75% of the apples of a tree in her backyard.

She picked 30 apples.

To find:

The number of apples on the tree in the beginning.

Solution:

Let x be the number of apples on the tree in the beginning.

Serenity picked 75% of the apples of a tree in her backyard.

Number of apples picked = 75% of x

                                           = $\dfrac{75}{100}x$

                                           = $\dfrac{3}{4}x$

She picked 30 apples.

$\dfrac{3}{4}x=30$

Multiply both sides by 4.

$3x=4\times 30$

$3x=120$

Divide both sides by 3.

$x=\dfrac{120}{3}$

$x=40$

Therefore, the number of apples on the tree in the beginning is 40.