Answer:
68 plants.
Step-by-step explanation:
Let x represent the number of plants that Reuben bought from the nursery.
We have been given that Reuben bought a whole bunch of plants at the nursery the other day. Right away, five died. So number of plant left would be [tex]x-5[/tex].
We are also told that then our dog dug up 2/9 of them. So number of plants left after dug-up would be [tex]\frac{2}{9}(x-5)[/tex].
Further a rabbit came and ate ½ of what was left. So number of plants left would be [tex]\frac{\frac{2}{9}(x-5)}{2}=\frac{2}{9\times 2}(x-5)=\frac{1}{9}(x-5)[/tex].
Since Reuben had only 7 plants left, so we will equate our expression with 7 and solve for x as:
[tex]\frac{1}{9}(x-5)=7[/tex]
[tex]9\times \frac{1}{9}(x-5)=7\times 9[/tex]
[tex]x-5=63[/tex]
[tex]x-5+5=63+5[/tex]
[tex]x=68[/tex]
Therefore, Reuben bought 68 plants at the nursery.
