Question

John gave half of his stamps to Jim. Jim gave half of his stamps to Carla. Carla gave 1/4 of the stamps given to her to Thomas and kept the remaining 12. How many stamps did John start with?

Answer 1

Answer: 64 stamps

Explanation:

Let the number of stamps John started with be J.

After giving half to Jim, he would have J/2 left.

After giving half to Carla he would have J/4 left and Carla would also have J/4.

After Carla gave 1/4 to Thomas, she would keep (3/4)*(J/4) = 3J/16 stamps. We are given that this equals 12.

Therefore, 3J/16 = 12

Multiply both sides by 16:

3J = 192

Divide both sides by 3:

J = 64