Question

darryl organized his old school supplies into pencil boxes. he put 5 pencils in each box. he also put y erasers in each pencil box. after filling 6 pencil boxes, he had used a total of 54 items. what is the value of y?
the chart shows 6 rectangles each labeled y + 5, and the total is 54. we need to find y.

Explanation:

Step1: Set up total items equation

There are 6 boxes, each with $y+5$ items, total is 54.
$$6(y+5)=54$$

Step2: Divide both sides by 6

Isolate the parenthetical term.
$$y+5=\frac{54}{6}=9$$

Step3: Solve for y

Subtract 5 from both sides.
$$y=9-5$$

Answer:

$4$