Question

darryl had 5 boxes of books with ( b ) books in each box. he decided to give away 1 book from each box. after giving away 1 book from each box, he had 30 total books left. what is the value of ( b )?
(there is a chart showing 5 rectangles each labeled ( b - 1 ) summed to 30, and a box to fill ( b = ) )

Explanation:

Step1: Set up the equation

There are 5 boxes, each with $b-1$ books left, and total is 30:
$$5(b-1) = 30$$

Step2: Divide both sides by 5

Isolate the parenthetical term:
$$b-1 = \frac{30}{5}$$
$$b-1 = 6$$

Step3: Solve for b

Add 1 to both sides:
$$b = 6 + 1$$

Answer:

$b=7$