Serena planted 14 of the tulip seeds in the packet Her mothe

Serena planted 1/4 of the tulip seeds in the packet. Her mother planted 1/3 of the remaining seeds. If there are 30 seeds left in the packet, how many were there to begin with? Please help me buy showing work thanks

Solution

Let tulip seeds in the packet = x

serena planted 1/4 = x/4

her mother planted = ( x - x/4 ) * (1/3)

left seeds = 30

then total seeds are : (  x/4 ) + (  ( x - x/4 ) * (1/3) ) + 30 = x

(  x/4 ) + (( 3x/4 ) * (1/3) ) + 30 = x

(  x/4 ) + (  x/4 ) + 30 = x

2x/4 + 30 = x

x/2 + 30 = x

x/2 - x = -30

(x - 2x) / 2 = -30

x - 2x = -60

- x = - 60

(-) sign cancelled from both sides, we get :

x = 60

Hence, total seeds are in begining = 60 [ Answer ]