The jansen family drove a total of 240 miles on their road trip. this distance is 5 times the distance they drove on the first day. how many miles did the family drive on the first day?

Let’s call the distance travelled on the first day ‘x’.

If the distance they drove on the second day was 5 times the first day, we can write it as ‘5x’.

And now, if we add the distance travelled on the first day and the second day, you’ll have the total distance travelled (which we know is 240 miles from the question).

Therefore:

x + 5x = 240
6x = 240
x = 240/6
x = 40

x (which is the distance travelled on the first day) is equal to 40, therefore your final answer is 40 miles.