Mr. thomas spent $1600 of his savings on a television set and 2/5 of the remainder on a refrigerator. he had 1/3 of his original amount of savings left.
a) what was mr. thomas's original savings?
b) what was the cost of the refrigerator?

Let x= original savings
(x-1,600) - 2/5 (x-1,600) = 1/3x
(x-1,600) - 2/5 + 640 = 1/3x
(3/5)x - 960 = 1/3x
(3/5)x - (1/3)x = 960
(4/15)x = 960
(15/4)(4/15)x = (15/4) 960
x = 15* 240 (960/4 = 240)
x = $3,600 is his original savings
Check:
$3,600 - 1,600 = 2,000
(2/5)($2,000) = $800
2,000 - 800 = 1,200 left over