Question

Ashley and her brother combined to read a total of 33 books over the summer. Ashley read three more than four times as many books as her brother . How many books did each person read?

Answer 1

Ashley read 27 books and her brother read 6 books.

Explanation:

Let the number of books her brother read be x.

No. of books her brother reads = x

No. of books Ashley reads = 4x + 3

No. of books her brother reads + No. of books Ashley reads = 33

x + 4x + 3 = 33

Evaluate.

5x + 3 = 33

Isolate 5x.

5x = 33-3

= 30

Find x.

x = 30 ÷ 5

x = 6

Amount of books her brother reads = 6

Amount of books Ashley reads = 4(6) + 3

= 24 + 3

= 27