Question

Leslie set up a fruit stand to sell some of her crop of oranges. The first person who came by bought 1/3 of her oranges. The second person bought 4 oranges. The thrid person bought 1/4 of the REMAINING oranges. Leslie took the last 15 oranges home to make orange juice. How many oranges did Leslie have at the beginning?

Answer 1

36

Explanation:

Let's say Leslie starts with x oranges.

The first person buys 1/3 of the oranges, leaving behind 2/3 x.

The second person buys 4 oranges, leaving behind 2/3 x − 4.

The third person buys 1/4 of the remaining oranges, leaving behind:

3/4 (2/3 x − 4)

This amount equals 15. Solving for x:

15 = 3/4 (2/3 x − 4)

20 = 2/3 x − 4

24 = 2/3 x

36 = x