Question

In a contest to guess the number of jelly beans in a jar, Alice guessed 25;Betty, 18;Clare,23;Dotty,19;Edith,24;and Fran,17. Two were off by 2, two were off by 3, two were off by 4. How many beans are in the jar?

Answer 1

There are 21 jelly beans in the jar.

Explanation:

Suppose, the number of jelly beans in the jar is
`x`

Two were off by 2, two were off by 3, two were off by 4. That means, the six guessed number will be:
`(x+2), (x-2), (x+3), (x-3), (x+4), (x-4)`

Given that, Alice guessed 25; Betty, 18; Clare, 23; Dotty, 19; Edith, 24; and Fran, 17.

So, the sum of all six guessed number will be:
`25+18+23+19+24+17=126`

Thus, the equation will be..........

`(x+2)+(x-2)+(x+3)+(x-3)+(x+4)+(x-4)= 126\\ \\ 6x= 126\\ \\ x=(126)/(6)=21`

So, the number of jelly beans in the jar is 21.