SOLUTION: A widow received 1/3 of her husband's estate,and each of her three sons recieved 1/3 of the balance.if the widow and one of her sons recieved a total of 60,000 from the estate,what

Question 147156: A widow received 1/3 of her husband's estate,and each of her three sons recieved 1/3 of the balance.if the widow and one of her sons recieved a total of 60,000 from the estate,what was the amount of the estate?
Found 2 solutions by Nate, mangopeeler07:
Answer by Nate(3500) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
The husband's estate was worth: x
Widow got: x/3
Estate left: x - x/3 = 2x/3
Each child receives: 2x/9
If the widow and one of her sons recieved a total of 60,000 from the estate,what was the amount of the estate?
x/3 + 2x/9 = 60,000
3x + 2x = 540,000
5x = 540,000
x = $108,000
Answer by mangopeeler07(462) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
To solve this problem, set up an equation. You know that the widow has one third of the estate, and so does one of her sons. There sum of money would then be two thirds of the estate. Since it is stated that the sum of the two balances is 60,000, then 60,000 must be equal to two thirds. So your equation should look like . Next, you should multiply both sides by 3 to get . Then to isolate the variable, you should divide both sides by 2 to get . Which should be the amount of the estate. Let's check.
Is 60,000 two thirds of 90,000? To check, put 60,000 over 90,000 like . Then reduce it to 6/9, and further reduce that to 2/3. Therefore, it all adds up. The estate = 90,000.
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