Thread: Linear Equations + Word Problems

1. Linear Equations + Word Problems

Hello all,

I have a question that I'm really struggling with. It's a worded problem and I can't turn it into a suitable equation.

Q: Three boys compare their marble collections. The first boy has 14 less than the second boy, who has twice as many as the third. If between them they have 71 marbles, how many does each boy have?

Thanks in advance for the help. It's really stumped me

2. Originally Posted by Stevo_Evo_22
Hello all,

I have a question that I'm really struggling with. It's a worded problem and I can't turn it into a suitable equation.

Q: Three boys compare their marble collections. The first boy has 14 less than the second boy, who has twice as many as the third. If between them they have 71 marbles, how many does each boy have?

Thanks in advance for the help. It's really stumped me
Let x be the number of marbles that the third boy has.

Then the second boy has 2x marbles.

And the first has 2x - 14.

-Dan

3. ok thnx a lot. But Im still confused as to what to do next

4. Originally Posted by Stevo_Evo_22
Hello all,

I have a question that I'm really struggling with. It's a worded problem and I can't turn it into a suitable equation.

Q: Three boys compare their marble collections. The first boy has 14 less than the second boy, who has twice as many as the third. If between them they have 71 marbles, how many does each boy have?

Thanks in advance for the help. It's really stumped me
Originally Posted by topsquark
Let x be the number of marbles that the third boy has.

Then the second boy has 2x marbles.

And the first has 2x - 14.

-Dan
Originally Posted by Stevo_Evo_22
ok thnx a lot. But Im still confused as to what to do next
The total number of marbles is 71. So
$(2x - 14) + (2x) + x = 71$

-Dan

5. thankyou soooooooooo much that helps a lot

i'll try take it from here, thanks heaps