Violet, Lily, Claire and Ava share the same hobby of collecting buttons. The average number of buttons collected by the 4 friends is 27. Lily collected 9 more buttons than Claire but 14 fewer buttons than Violet. Ava collected 4 buttons fewer than Claire. Find the average number of buttons collected by Lily, Claire and Ava. Round off your answer to the nearest whole number.
Number of buttons Claire collected = 1 u
Number of buttons Lily collected = 1 u + 9
Number of buttons Violet collected = 1 u + 9 + 14 = 1 u + 23
Number of buttons Ava collected = 1 u - 4

Total number of buttons collected
= 4 x 27
= 108

Total number of buttons collected in units
= 1 u + 1 u + 9 + 1 u + 23 + 1 u - 4
= 4 u + 28

4 u + 28 = 108
4 u = 108 - 28 = 80

1 u = 80 ÷ 4 = 20

Total number of buttons collected by Lily, Claire and Ava
= 1 u + 9 + 1 u + 1 u - 4
= 3 u + 5
= 3 x 20 + 5
= 65

Average number of buttons collected by Lily, Claire and Ava
= 65 ÷ 3
≈ 22 (Round off to the nearest whole number.)

Answer(s): 22