How do u solve this?

Question

a) Three algebra students were doing their homework together. As a treat, one mom offered to bake some cookies. While waiting for them to cool, all three students fell asleep. After a while, Latisha woke up, ate her equal share of cookies and went back to sleep. A little while later, Susan woke up, ate what she thought was her equal share and fell asleep again. Then Hieu woke up, ate what she thought was her equal share, and went back to sleep. Later, all three kids woke up and discovered 8 cookies left.

How many cookies were baked originally?

if u solve this can u help me with this one too

What would happen if there were 5 students? As before, each student ate her equal share of what was left. When they all awakened, how many cookies remained? How many cookies were baked originally?

Answer 1

a) Let x represent the number of cookies baked originally.

So, Latisha woke up and ate her equal share:x/3 cookies. So what's left is 2x/3 cookies.

Susan woke up and ate a third of THAT, which is: 2x/3 times 1/3, which is 2x/9. Now what's left is 2x/3 subtracted by 2x/9, which is 4x/9.

Hieu then ate a third of 4x/9 cookies, which is 4x/27 cookies.

So, you subtract from x what they all ate altogether.

x - (x/3) - (2x/9) - (4x/27) = 8

So, x = 27.

27 cookies were baked, originally.

If there were 5 students, I guess the method would be the same, only doing a fifth of each progressive number of cookies...?

In truth, I don't think you gave enough info for the second part... you have to tell us either how many cookies were baked, or how many cookies remained. Otherwise, too many variables. At least that's what I think.

Answer 2

no you can definitely answer it, but I'm really bad at explaining how to work backwords so ill solve it then show you how to prove its correct.... alot of the information here is useless though lemme tell you what u need to know.

1.   Each kid will eat 1/3 of the  cookies they see, and leave behindd 2/3

2. 3 kids total

3. 8 cookies at the end

OK so at the beginning there were 27 cookies and ill show you how to prove it

First kid wakes up eat 1/3 of the cookies, leaves 2/3 behind.. so she eats 9 and leaves behin 18

Second kid wakes up eats 6 and leaves behind 12

third kid wakes up, eats 4 and leaves behind 8

in mathematical terms..

17 X 2/3 = 18

18 X 2/3 = 12

12 X 2/3 = 8

Answer 3

I don't think there's enough information given. "What they believed was their share" does not tell you anything, and neither does "ate her equal share of cookies."

Maybe it's a trick question, I'm not sure.

You'll probably need to ask your teacher.

Answer 4

X

After Latisha   Y  = X-X/3

After Susan     Z = Y - Y/3

after Hieu         W = Z - Z/3

and W = 8  so 8 = 2Z/3 so  Z=12

Z=12  so 12 = 2Y/3   so Y = 18

and  18 = 2X/3   so X = 27

...

Other question implies that neither X nor W (nor Y nor Z) is known.  If true the question is not soluble.  If W=8 as above, then the equations would be X - X/5, Y-Y/5, etc.

If The last student left 4/5ths of the cookies and that was eight then before her there would be 10.  If the 10 were 4/5ths of the cookies then thats 12.5, etc.

Answer 5

Do you just need an equation?  I'm not sure there is enough information to solve it without knowing how many cookies the mom baked originally.

Answer 6

8 cookies left at the end /2 for the other two=4

4 for each x 3 =12 cookies

12 cookies /2 for the other 2 = 6

6 cookies x 3 = 18 cookies

18 cookies/2 for the other 2 = 9

9 cookies x3 = 27 cookies

27 cookies were baked originally is the answer to the first part of the question.  The second part of the questin requires more details such as a start or end number of cookies.

Answer 7

x = 4