Answer: It took 18 Months for Michelle to collect 59 dolls.
Explanation: First, let’s right an equation for this. Michelle started with 5 dolls in a bar collection (I have no clue what that is but i’ll roll with it), and each month she bought 3 more, so 5 dolls plus the 3 dolls per month equals 59 at some point.
5 dolls + 3 dolls per month = 59 dolls OR 5 + 3m = 59
The point of this question is to find how many months (m) it took in order to get to 59 dolls and there’s multiple ways you can do this:
1) just plug in random numbers into m to see how long it takes to get to 59 [this option might take a while]
2) Try to isolate m (get every number out of the equation) to find out the value of m. [I’m most familiar with this way]
First, subtract 5 from 5 in the equation in order to get rid of it, since we’re trying to get all whole numbers out of the equation and only have m left. You subtract 5 from 59 since the equal sign is kind of like a mirrror, whatever you do to one side you have to do to the other. So, 5-5 is 0, and 59- is 54.
Now you’re left with 3m=54. In order to isolate the m, divide 3 by 3 to get rid of the 3, then divide 54 by 3, which is 18.
In order to check your work, plug 18 into m just to see if it works or not:
5+3m=59 —-> 5+ 3(18)= 59
3 times 18 is 54, plus 5 is 59. So, Mi hells took 18 months to collect her 59 dolls. Hope this helped!
