SOLUTION: Lydia, Sarah, and Denise collected campaign buttons. Lydia had 20 more buttons than Sarah. Denise had 3 times as many buttons as Sarah. If the total number of campaign buttons t

Question 596186: Lydia, Sarah, and Denise collected campaign buttons. Lydia had 20 more buttons
than Sarah. Denise had 3 times as many buttons as Sarah.
If the total number of campaign buttons the 3 girls had was 120, how many
buttons did Lydia have? please show me the steps.
Answer by math-vortex(648) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Hi, there--
.
To solve this problem, write an expression for the number of buttons each girl has. Then write an equation showing that the total number of buttons is 120. Notice that all three girls' button counts are given in terms of Sarah's total.
.
Let s be the number of buttons that Sarah has.
.
"20 more buttons than Sarah" translates to "s+20".
.
"3 times as many as Sarah" translates to "3s".
.
Add these three expressions and set them equal to 120.

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Now combine like terms to solve for s.

.
Subtract 20 from both sides.

.
Divide both sides of the equation by 5.

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We see that s=20, so s+20=40, and 3s=60.
Sarah has 20 buttons.
Lydia has 40 buttons.
Denise has 60 buttons.
.
CHECK:
Do the girls buttons add up to 120? 20+40+60=120...YES!
Does Lydia have 20 more than Sarah? 40-20=20...GREAT!
Does Denise have 3 times as many as Sarah? 3*(20)=60...PERFECT!
.
That's it! Feel free to email if you have questions about this.
.
Ms.Figgy
math.in.the.vortex@gmail.com

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