Question

Diane, Sam, and Boris served a total of 54 orders Monday at the school cafeteria. Diane served 6 fewer orders than Sam. Boris served 2 times as

many orders as Sam. How many orders did they each serve?
Number of orders Diane served:
Number of orders Sam served:
Number of orders Boris served:

Answer 1

Let's denote:

- The number of orders Diane served as `D`

- The number of orders Sam served as `S`

- The number of orders Boris served as `B`

From the problem, we know:

1. `D + S + B = 54` (the total number of orders they served)

2. `D = S - 6` (Diane served 6 fewer orders than Sam)

3. `B = 2S` (Boris served 2 times as many orders as Sam)

We can substitute equations 2 and 3 into equation 1 to solve for the variables:

Substitute `D` and `B` in equation 1:

`(S - 6) + S + 2S = 54`

Combine like terms:

`4S - 6 = 54`

Add 6 to both sides:

`4S = 60`

Divide by 4:

`S = 15`

Now that we know `S = 15`, we can find `D` and `B` by substituting `S` into equations 2 and 3:

`D = S - 6 = 15 - 6 = 9`

`B = 2S = 2 * 15 = 30`

So, Diane served 9 orders, Sam served 15 orders, and Boris served 30 orders.