Question

Kirk has 12 dollars less than jim. If jim spends half of his money and kirk spends none,then kirk will have two dollars more than jim. How much money did they both start with

Answer 1

Jim had $28

Kirk had $16

Explanation:

Let

the amount of dollars Kirk has be "k"

and

the amount of dollars Jim has be "j"

Kirk has 12 dolalrs LESS THAN Jim, so we can write:

j = k + 12

Jim spends half & kirk spends none, so:

Jim has:

(k+12)(1/2) = (1/2)k + 12(1/2) = (1/2)k + 6

Kirk still has:

k

This will make Kirk's amount(k) be 2 dollar MORE THAN JIM'S AMOUNT (1/2k + 6). So we can write:

k = 2 + (1/2)k + 6

Now we can solve this for k:

`k=2+(1)/(2)k+6\\k-(1)/(2)k=6+2\\(1)/(2)k=8\\k=16`

And now, finding jim's amount:

j = k + 12

j = 16 + 12

j = 28

Initially,

Jim had $28

Kirk had $16