Question

After Sten gave away 1/8 of his record collection, he had 14 records left. How many records did he have before he gave some away. Make sure to show work.

Answer 1

Let r be the # of records in Sten's original collection.  He gave away r/8 records and had 14, or 7r/8, records left.  Solve 14 = 7r/8 for r:

Reduce this equation by dividing both sides by 7:  2 = r/8.  Mult. both sides by 8 results in r = 16.  Sten originally had 16 records.