Paul bought 32 more buttons than Henry and Henry bought 23 buttons more than Reggie. The total number of buttons Paul and Henry bought was 4 times the number of buttons Reggie bought.
- How many buttons does Paul need to give Henry so that they have the same number of buttons?
- How many buttons did all three of them have altogether?
(a)
Since Paul had 32 buttons more than Henry, Paul needed to give half of his extra buttons to Henry.
Number of buttons that Paul needs to give to Henry
= 32 ÷ 2
= 16
(b)
Number of buttons that Reggie bought = 1 u
Number of buttons that Henry bought = 1 u + 23
Number of buttons that Paul bought
= 1 u + 23 + 32
= 1 u + 55
Number of buttons that Henry and Paul bought
= 1 u + 23 + 1 u + 55
= 2 u + 78
Total number of buttons that Paul and Henry bought is 4 times the number that Reggie bought.
Number of buttons that Henry and Paul bought = 4 u
4 u = 2 u + 78
4 u - 2 u = 78
2 u = 78
1 u = 78 ÷ 2 = 39
Total number of buttons
= 4 u + 1 u
= 5 u
= 5 x 39
= 195
Answer(s): (a) 16; (b) 195
