SOLUTION: In preparation for a party, Heather fills a large jar with gum drops. Before the party begins, Michael see the gum drop jar. He (hoping that no one will realize) takes one-third of

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Question 11602: In preparation for a party, Heather fills a large jar with gum drops. Before the party begins, Michael see the gum drop jar. He (hoping that no one will realize) takes one-third of the drops. Soon after, Tanya takes one-third of the gum drops (she too hopes that nobody will notice). Finally, Brian appears and, like the others, takes one-third of the gum drops. If forty gum drops are left in the jar, how many did it originally contain?
Answer by Earlsdon(6294) (Show Source):
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Let x = the original number of jelly beans in the jar before the pilfering began.
After Michael has pinched his third, the number left is:

After Tanya's sampling, the number left is:
=
Finally, after Brian has helped himself to one third, there are 40 jelly beans remaining:

Multiply both sides by 27.
Divide both sides by 8.
There were 135 jelly beans in the jar before the crime.
Check:
= 90
= 60
= 40