To find out how much money Emily had in the beginning, we need to consider the money she spent and the money she had left.
1. Emily spent [tex]$4.5 on clothes.
2. After spending, she had $[/tex]15 left.
To determine the total amount of money Emily had initially, we add the money she spent to the money she had left. This calculation can be set up as follows:
[tex]\[ \text{Total initial money} = \text{Money spent} + \text{Money left} \][/tex]
Substituting the given values:
[tex]\[ \text{Total initial money} = 4.5 + 15 \][/tex]
[tex]\[ \text{Total initial money} = 19.5 \][/tex]
Thus, the total amount of money Emily had at the start is [tex]$19.5.
Now, looking at the provided options:
a) $[/tex]18.5
b) [tex]$19.5
c) $[/tex]19
d) [tex]$10.5
The correct answer is:
b) $[/tex]19.5