Elijah and Jeremy had 81 staplers. After Elijah gave 21 staplers to Jeremy. Jeremy, in return, gave half of his staplers to Elijah. In the end, Elijah had twice as many staplers as Jeremy. How many staplers did Elijah have at first?
| |
Elijah |
Jeremy |
Total |
| Before |
1 u + 21 |
2 u - 21 |
81 |
| Change 1 |
- 21 |
+ 21 |
|
| After 1 |
1 u |
2 u |
|
| Change 2 |
+ 1 u |
- 1 u |
|
| After 2 |
2 u |
1 u |
81 |
Total number of staplers that Elijah and Jeremy had at first and in the end remains unchanged.
Total number of staplers
= 2 u + 1 u
= 3 u
1 u = 81 ÷ 3 = 27
Number of staplers that Elijah had at first
= 1 u + 21
= 27 + 21
= 48
Answer(s): 48
