If a store adds 50 chairs to its current inventory, the total number of chairs will be the same as three-halves the current inventory of chairs. If the manager wants to increase the current inventory by 40%, what will the new inventory of chairs be?

This word problem requires careful translation. Let’s say t = total current inventory of chairs. The first sentence states that \(50 + t = \frac{\mathrm{3} }{\mathrm{2}} t\). First solve for the current inventory:
\(50 + t = \frac{\mathrm{3} }{\mathrm{2}} t\)
50 = 3t/2 - t
\(50 = \frac{\mathrm{1} }{\mathrm{2}}t\)
t = 100.
The manager wants to increase this by 40%. We know that 40% of 100 is 40, so the new inventory will be 140.