Question 70·Easy·Linear Equations in One Variable
An online article received a total of 480 interactions, consisting of likes and comments. If the article received 375 likes, how many comments did it receive?
For word problems involving a total made of two parts (like likes and comments), first translate the situation into a simple equation of the form part 1 part 2 total. Identify which part is unknown, then solve by isolating it—usually by subtracting the known part from the total. This quick setup prevents confusion between the given numbers and the one you are actually asked to find.
Hints
Relate the parts to the whole
The total interactions are made up of likes and comments together. How can you write that as a simple equation?
Isolate the unknown quantity
If likes plus comments equals 480, and you know the number of likes, what operation will help you find the number of comments?
Set up the subtraction
Think: comments total interactions likes. Substitute the numbers given in the problem into this expression and simplify.
Desmos Guide
Use Desmos to compute the unknown part
In a new expression line, type 480-375 to represent total interactions minus likes. The value that Desmos outputs for this expression is the number of comments.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what is known and what is asked
You are told there are 480 total interactions and 375 of those are likes. The rest of the interactions must be comments, and you are asked to find how many comments there are.
Write an equation for the situation
Let be the number of comments. The total interactions come from likes plus comments, so you can write:
Now solve this equation for .
Solve for the number of comments
To solve , subtract from both sides:
Compute the subtraction: , so the article received comments, which corresponds to choice D.