Kavitha wanted to buy a laptop. She saved 1/3 of the cost of the laptop in the first month. In the second month, she saved $125 less than what she saved in the first month. She saved the remaining $525 in the third month. How much did the laptop cost?
Answer
Kavitha saved money towards a laptop over three months. By setting up an equation based on her savings, we found that the total cost of the laptop is $1200. This was derived by combining her savings from each month into a single equation and solving for the total cost.
Explanation
To find out the cost of the laptop, we can set up an equation based on the savings Kavitha made over the three months. Let's denote the total cost of the laptop as y. In the first month, Kavitha saved 3 1 y. In the second month, she saved 125 dollars less than her first month's saving, which is: 3 1 y−125 In the third month, she saved the remaining 525 dollars. Putting this all together, we can form the equation: y=(1/3)y+((1/3)y−125)+525 Now, simplify the equation: y=(1/3)y+(1/3)y−125+525 y=(2/3)y+400 Next, isolate y on one side by subtracting (2/3)y from both sides: y−(2/3)y=400 1/3 y=400 Now, multiply both sides by 3 to solve for y:y=400×3 y=1200 Thus, the cost of the laptop is $1200.