Question

Sales for a business were 3 million dollars more the second year than the first, and sales for the third year were double the sales for the second year. If sales for the third year were 38 million dollars, what were sales, in millions of dollars, for the first year?

Answer 1

Answer:

Let x be the first year's sales

Let x+ 3 be the second year's sales.. since they sold 3 million more in

the second than on the first.

Let 2(x+3) be the third year's sales... since they are double the second

year's sales.

Using the Distributive Property, this becomes 2x+6..

Now, 2x+6= 38

-6 -6 Subtract 6 from both sides

2x = 32 Divide both sides by 2

x= 16

So the sales for the first year are 16 millions, 19 on the second, and 38 on the third.