# (Simple) Math Help Needed - NOT HOMEWORK **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 5, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-math-help-needed-not-homework/297897 "2005-04-05T20:01:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-math-help-needed-not-homework/297897/1 "2005-04-05T20:01:10Z")
This will be really simple to most of you, but I’m clueless. I received a payout check from some presale tickets on a show I promoted a while back. The presale manager already took their percentage out, but didn’t give me the original sum before she took the percentage. She is unavailable to tell me what the original amount was. The amount I received was $342. She took 5% off the top. I’m pretty sure that to figure it out, I use the equation: X - .05x = 342 But I have no recollection of how to solve this, and I sucked at math in school anyway. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance! ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-math-help-needed-not-homework/297897/2 "2005-04-05T20:09:19Z")
If I understand the problem correctly it would be: 342 = 0.95x Therefore x = 342/0.95 which is $360 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-math-help-needed-not-homework/297897/3 "2005-04-05T20:16:24Z")
X - .05x = 342 Gather the “like terms” X- 0.5X = (1 \* X) - (0.5 \* X) then by distribution (1 - 0.5) \* X = 0.95 X Therefore, 0.95 X = 342 Divide each side by 0.95: 0.95/0.95 X = 342/0.95 = 1 X = 360 Therefore X = 360 ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-math-help-needed-not-homework/297897/4 "2005-04-05T20:23:27Z")
Remember too that the variable “X” really stands for “1X”. 1X-.05X = .95X should be pretty clear then. ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-math-help-needed-not-homework/297897/5 "2005-04-05T20:29:53Z")
:smack: thank you all. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-math-help-needed-not-homework/297897/6 "2005-04-05T23:15:04Z")
Don’t feel bad. You’re way ahead of a lot of people who would have just added on 5% of the $342. ---
**Author:** ![MaceMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@MaceMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaceMan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-math-help-needed-not-homework/297897/7 "2005-04-06T04:05:34Z")
Another way to solve the problem, without explicit equations: If she took 5%, then you got the remaining 95%. So, 95% of what = $342?