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To: grundle

The answer is 2.

48/x(9+3)=288
48/12x=288
48=288*12x
48/288=12x
1/6=12x
0.16667=12x
0.16667/12=x
x=0.0138888

Putting the x back in:
48/0.0138888(9+3)=x
48/0.0138888(12)=x
48/0.1666667=x
288=x

48/x(9+3)=2
48/12x=2
12x=48/2
12x=24
x=24/12
x=2


566 posted on 04/13/2011 12:05:03 PM PDT by Ironfocus
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To: Ironfocus
Of course x=2. You took the 2 and replaced it with x. Why would you set the equation equal to 288 if it was not the answer?

48/2(9+3) = x
48(9+3) = 2x
48*12 = 2x
576 = 2x
288 = x
567 posted on 04/13/2011 12:13:53 PM PDT by grateful
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To: Ironfocus
48/x(9+3)=288
48/12x=288

You beg the question in your first step. You assume that (9 + 3) is in the denominator of the expression. If you express this expression in a linear fashion (entering into a calculator or programming a computer), you need to add parentheses to make this so.

48/(x(9 + 3))

570 posted on 04/13/2011 12:20:40 PM PDT by SoothingDave
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