Question

A while back, either James borrowed $12 from his friend Rita or she borrowed $12 from him, but he can't quite remember which. Either way, he is planning to pay her back or ask that she pay him back this afternoon. If he has $42.80 in his wallet, which equation represents the amount of money he may have after he sees Rita? |x – 42.80| = 12

Answer 1

Answer:

|x - 42.80| = 12

Step-by-step explanation:

The absolute value |x - a| = b means either x - a = b or x - a = -b

Let x represent the amount of money in the afternoon after he has either paid her back or she has paid him.

Given that he has $42.80 in his wallet and he either borrowed $12 from his friend Rita or she borrowed $12 from him. Therefore:

x = 42.80 + 12; or x = 42.80 - 12

Hence:

x - 42.80 = 12; or x - 42.80 = -12

|x - 42.80| = 12