document.write( "<A HREF=/cgi-bin/jump-to-question.mpl?question=1193161>Question 1193161</A>: <I><SPAN STYLE=\"word-break: break-all;\"> Hi<BR>\n" );
document.write( "On Wednesday Bob had 150 stamps. On Tuesday he lost 16 stamps and had given away 1/6 of the stamps he had. On Monday he shared his stamps equally with his sister. <BR>\n" );
document.write( "How many did he have on Monday. <BR>\n" );
document.write( "Thanks </SPAN>\n" );
document.write( "</I><HR><TABLE width=100%><TR><TD><B><A HREF=http://www.algebra.com/>Algebra.Com's</A> Answer #825184 by </B><A HREF=/tutors/aboutme.mpl?userid=greenestamps><B>greenestamps(13200)</B></A><img src=\"/images/stars/stars-13.gif\" alt=\"\" >&nbsp;<A HREF=/tutors/aboutme.mpl?userid=greenestamps><IMG SRC=http://www.algebra.com/images/aboutme-small.gif BORDER=0 alt=\"About Me\" VALIGN=MIDDLE></A>&nbsp;<IMG SRC=http://www.algebra.com/cgi-bin/show-face.mpl?user=greenestamps><BR>You can <A HREF=\"/cgi-bin/embed-solution.mpl?show=1&solution=825184\">put this solution on YOUR website!</A><BR><SPAN STYLE=\"word-break: break-all;\"> <br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "Exactly as written, the problem does not have a solution in whole numbers and is therefore faulty.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "And the solution from the other tutor does not interpret the given information correctly.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "There are two problems with the statement of the problem:<BR>\n" );
document.write( "(1) The question \"how many did he have on Monday\" doesn't tell us whether the answer is before or after he gave half of his stamps to his sister.<BR>\n" );
document.write( "(2) The statement \"on Tuesday he lost 16 stamps and HAD GIVEN AWAY 1/6 of the stamps he had\", with a correct grammatical interpretation, means that the 16 stamps were lost AFTER he had given away 1/6 of the stamps he had.  That interpretation leads to an answer that is not a whole number.  So the 16 stamps must have been lost BEFORE he gave away 1/6 of his stamps -- contrary to what the statement of the problem says.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "Sorting out the problem so that it can have a valid solution, here is what happened:<BR>\n" );
document.write( "Monday: started with some number of stamps, gave half to his sister<BR>\n" );
document.write( "Tuesday: lost 16 stamps, then gave away 1/6 of what he had left<BR>\n" );
document.write( "Wednesday: finished with 150 stamps<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "x = # he started with<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "number he had after giving half of them to his sister: <IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=x%2F2 ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"x%2F2\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" ><BR>\n" );
document.write( "number he had after losing 16 stamps: <IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=x%2F2-16 ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"x%2F2-16\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" ><BR>\n" );
document.write( "number he had after giving away 1/6 of what he had: <IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=%285%2F6%29%28x%2F2-16%29 ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"%285%2F6%29%28x%2F2-16%29\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" ><br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "He finished with 150 stamps:<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "<IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=%285%2F6%29%28x%2F2-16%29=150 ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"%285%2F6%29%28x%2F2-16%29=150\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" ><BR>\n" );
document.write( "<IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=x%2F2-16=150%286%2F5%29=180 ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"x%2F2-16=150%286%2F5%29=180\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" ><BR>\n" );
document.write( "<IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=x%2F2=180%2B16=196 ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"x%2F2=180%2B16=196\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" ><BR>\n" );
document.write( "<IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=x=196%2A2=392 ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"x=196%2A2=392\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" ><br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "ANSWER: He started with 392 stamps<br><BR>\n" );
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document.write( "In response to the parent who said his son copied this problem verbatim from the textbook....<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "I don't at all doubt that.  People who write math problems often demonstrate a lack of understanding of English.  It's sad, though, that the sloppy language gets past the editors/publishers of the textbook.<br>\r<BR>\n" );
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document.write( " </SPAN>\n" );
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