Answer:
There were 24 chocolates in the box to begin with.
Explanation:
Let's use working backwards to solve this problem.
We know that there are 12 chocolates left in the box. Let's call the number of chocolates that were in the box to begin with "x".
After eating 1/4 of what was left, Forest had 3/4 of the chocolates left. So, we can set up an equation:
3/4 (x - 1/3x) = 12
We can simplify this equation by multiplying both sides by 4/3:
x - 1/3x = 16
Multiplying both sides by 3:
2x = 48
x = 24
Therefore, there were 24 chocolates in the box to begin with.