Thread: maths homework

fatima told her children "if i give u 2 toffees each of you,i am left with 3 toffees.But if i try to give 3 toffees each of you,i face a short of 2 toffees" how many children does fatima have?

Originally Posted by tooba

fatima told her children "if i give u 2 toffees each of you,i am left with 3 toffees.But if i try to give 3 toffees each of you,i face a short of 2 toffees" how many children does fatima have?

So to give each child one more toffee would require 5 more toffees
(the three left from the first distribution ad 2 more fatima will have
to borrow to complete the second distribution).

So how many children are there?

RonL

Hello, tooba!

Fatima told her children, "If I give you 2 toffees to each of you,'
I am left with 3 toffees. .But if i try to give 3 toffees to each of you,
I am short 2 toffees". .How many children does Fatima have?

Let $\displaystyle N$ = number of toffees.
Let $\displaystyle C$ = number of children.

If she gives two to each child, there will be three left over.
. . Hence: .$\displaystyle N \;=\;2C + 3$ .[1]

If she gives three to each child, she will be two toffees short.
. . Hence: .$\displaystyle N \;=\;3C - 2$ .[2]


Equate [1] and [2]: .$\displaystyle 2C + 3 \;=\;3C - 2$

. . and solve for $\displaystyle C$.