Kristin bought eight boxes. a week later half of all her boxes were destroyed in a fire. there are now only 17 boxes left. with how many did she start

She started with 26 boxes.

Step-by-step explanation:

She started with x boxes. Then she bought 8 more boxes. Now she had x + 8 boxes. Then half the boxes were destroyed, so she has the other half of the boxes. Half of the boxes is (x + 8)/2. She has now 17 boxes, so (x + 8)/2 = 17.

(x + 8)/2 = 17

Multiply both sides by 2.

x + 8 = 34

Subtract 8 from both sides.

x = 26

She started with 26 boxes.

step-by-step explanation:

step 1: solve one of the equations for one of the variables. let's solve the first equation for y:

step 2: substitute that equation into the other equation, and solve for x.

step 3: substitute x = 4 x = 4 x=4 into one of the original equations, and solve for y.