SOLUTION: I do not understand at all Donald gave Louie a number of marbles to share with Dewey and Huey. Making sure that he got his share, Louie took one-third of the marbles and hid th

Algebra ->  Equations -> SOLUTION: I do not understand at all Donald gave Louie a number of marbles to share with Dewey and Huey. Making sure that he got his share, Louie took one-third of the marbles and hid th      Log On


   

Question 697324: I do not understand at all
Donald gave Louie a number of marbles to share with Dewey and Huey. Making sure that he got his share, Louie took one-third of the marbles and hid them. Dewey, after hearing from Donald that he is entitled to one-third of the marbles as well, went and hid one-third of the remaining marbles. Not knowing what was going on, Daisy took two marbles from the pile. When Huey came, there were only 10 marbles left. How many marbles did Donald give to Louie in the beginning?
This is as far as I have gotten.
x-1/3-(1/3)-2
Answer by josmiceli(19441) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Let +x+ = the number of marbles that
Donald gave Louie.
Louie hid +%281%2F3%29%2Ax+, so there were
+%282%2F3%29%2Ax+ marbles left.
Dewey hid 1/3 of the marbles left, so
that means there are +%282%2F3%29%2A%282%2F3%29%2Ax+=+%284%2F9%29%2Ax+
marbles left.
After Daisy took 2 marbles, there are
+%284%2F9%29%2Ax+-+2+ left
Huey saw 10 marbles in the pile
so, I can say
+%284%2F9%29%2Ax+-+2+=+10+
+4x+-+18+=+90+
+4x+=+108+
+x+=+27+
Donald gave Louie 27 marbles
check:
Louie hid 1/3, or 9 marbles, so
there are 18 left
Dewey hid 1/3 of these, or +18%2F3+=+6+
so, there are 12 left
Daisy took 2, so there are
10 left
That's what Huey saw
OK