MHB Number of students in a class at first

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The discussion centers on a mathematical problem involving the number of pupils in a class. Initially, there are m pupils, and after a week, 4 more join, resulting in a total of m + 4 pupils. When given that there are 40 pupils after a week, the equation m + 4 = 40 is established, leading to the conclusion that m equals 36. The responses indicate confusion regarding an incorrect answer from a book, which stated m - 20 and 30, both of which are incorrect based on the established equation.

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There were m pupils in a class at first. After a week, 4 more pupils joined the class.

a) Find the number of pupils in the class after a week in terms of m.

my answer: m + 4b) There were 40 pupils in the class after a week. How many pupils were there in the class at first?

my answer: no answer

I'm not sure about this question.
 
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Johnx said:
There were m pupils in a class at first. After a week, 4 more pupils joined the class.

a) Find the number of pupils in the class after a week in terms of m.

my answer: m + 4

Yes, that's good.

Johnx said:
b) There were 40 pupils in the class after a week. How many pupils were there in the class at first?

my answer: no answer

I'm not sure about this question.

Here, they are telling you:

$$m+4=40$$

So, you need to solve for \(m\) to determine how many pupils were there in the class at first (because this is what \(m\) represents).

What do you find?
 
Thanks for the reply

There was a different answer that didn't make any sense to me.

The answer that I was given from the book was.

a) m - 20

b) 30.Is this incorrect?
 
Yes, I don't see how the answers given by your book could possibly be correct.
 

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