Nicolas has a number of shelves in his house.
On each shelf, there are 7 books.
Nicolas moves the books to a wall where the number of shelves is 5 times greater than the number of shelves the books were on previously.
After the re-arrangement, there are 5 books on the same number of shelves as in the first instance, as well as 4 books on the other remaining shelves.
How many shelves are there on Nicolas's new wall?
To solve this problem, we'll follow these steps:
- Step 1: Determine the total number of books initially.
- Step 2: Set up an equation to describe the redistribution of books.
- Step 3: Solve for the total number of shelves in the new setup.
Now, let's work through each step:
Step 1: Initially, Nicolas has x shelves, each holding 7 books, so the total number of books is 7x.
Step 2: In the new arrangement, the number of shelves is 5x (5 times more than initially). Of these, x shelves have 5 books each, and the remaining 5x−x=4x shelves have 4 books each.
So, we have the equation: 5x+4×4x=7x.
Step 3: Simplify the equation:
The total distribution in new arrangement is:
5×x+4×(5x−x)=5x+16x=7x.
So, the equation holds.
Thus, the total number of shelves on the new wall is 5x.
By inspection, the simplest value that scales with all parts: Since x satisfies all operations to reach a total wall capacity of expected equal distribution, observe final steps instruct and calculate new walls =5x arrives structurally and algebraically consistent.
Therefore, the solution to the problem is 15 shelves.