cost of present

Five people plan to buy a present, sharing the cost equally. If one person decided not to participate, the cost per person for the other 4 people would increase by $16. What is the cost of the present?

well i can first multiply 16 and 4 to get 64 ? 64 + 16 = 80.

Define define define!! The cost fo the present is INVARIANT. Look for this behavior.

C = Cost of Present

M = 5 person price

5*M = C

N = 4 person price

4*N = C

N - M = 15

From the previous two

5*M = 4*N

Solve for M & N

Solve for C

so set up in the form of an equation or

just 80 *4 but that gets you 320

Psychguy98 said:

Five people plan to buy a present, sharing the cost equally. If one person decided not to participate, the cost per person for the other 4 people would increase by $16. What is the cost of the present?

well i can first multiply 16 and 4 to get 64 ? 64 + 16 = 80.

Click to expand...

You have been reminded many times to DEFINE variables.....and yet you continue to ignore that part.

Here's a slightly different approach than that offered by tkhunny:

let c = cost of the present

If 5 people share the cost equally, then each will pay c/5 dollars.

If 4 people share the cost equally, then each will pay c/4 dollars.

The problem says this:

the share when 4 people pay is $16 more than the share when 5 people pay

Can you translate that verbal sentence into an equation?

Once you have the equation, solve it using techniques you've been using to solve other equations involving fractions. (That HAS been the type of problem you've been posting lately.)