Question:
There are 3900 workers in the three main buildings downtown. Twice as many people work in the largest building as in the smallest of the three. There are 500 more workers in the second-largest building than in the smallest building. How many workers are in each building?
Answer:
There are 850 workers in smallest building and 1700 workers in largest building and 1350 workers in second largest building
Solution:
Let "b" be the number of workers in smallest building
Given that Twice as many people work in the largest building as in the smallest of the three
number of workers in largest building = 2b
Given that There are 500 more workers in the second-largest building than in the smallest building
Number of workers in second largest building = 500 + b
Given that there are 3900 workers in 3 buildings
b + 2b + 500 + b = 3900
4b + 500 = 3900
4b = 3900 - 500
4b = 3400
b = 850
Thus there are 850 workers in smallest building
workers in largest building = 2b = 2(850) = 1700
workers in second largest building = 500 + b = 500 + 850 = 1350
Thus there are 850 workers in smallest building and 1700 workers in largest building and 1350 workers in second largest building