Question

Jessica, Tom, and Chris served a total of 70 orders Monday at the school cafeteria. Jessica served 5 fewer orders than Chris. Tom served 3 times as many orders as Chris. How many orders did they each serve?

Answer 1

Let's set up equations based on the given information:

Let:
J = number of orders Jessica served
T = number of orders Tom served
C = number of orders Chris served

We are given three pieces of information:

1. Jessica, Tom, and Chris served a total of 70 orders:
J + T + C = 70

2. Jessica served 5 fewer orders than Chris:
J = C - 5

3. Tom served 3 times as many orders as Chris:
T = 3C

Now we can substitute the equations for J and T into the first equation:

(C - 5) + (3C) + C = 70

Combine like terms:
5C - 5 = 70

Add 5 to both sides:
5C = 75

Divide both sides by 5:
C = 15

Now that we know Chris served 15 orders, we can find the orders for Jessica and Tom:

J = C - 5 = 15 - 5 = 10
T = 3C = 3 * 15 = 45

So, Jessica served 10 orders, Tom served 45 orders, and Chris served 15 orders.