Question

For every 2 pages of a book that Bernice reads, Charmaine reads 3. When Charmaine

had 16 pages left, Bernice had 36. How many pages are there in the book?

Answer 1

76

Explanation:

Let x = number of pages

Since Charmaine had 16 pages left, subtract 16 from x to indicate that is the number of pages read like this: x - 16

Divide that by 3 like this: (x - 16)/3

Do the same for Bernice: (x - 36)/2

Make them equal to each other

(x - 16)/3 = (x - 36)/2

Cross multiply

2(x - 16) = 3(x - 36)

Distribute

2x - 32 = 3x - 108

Move like terms to the same side by subtracting 2x from both sides

2x - 32 = 3x - 108

- 2x - 2x

-32 = x - 108

Add 108 to both sides

-32 = x - 108

+ 108 + 108

x = 76

This means there are 76 pages in the book.