Question 42308
Let b and m be what Bob and Mary have before giving any of them away.
The first statement says
2(b - 2) = m + 2
The second says
m - 2 = b + 2
Solve both for m and set them equal...we have
2b - 4 = m + 2
m = 2b - 6
and
m = b + 4
so that
2b - 6 = b + 4
and you can find that
b = 10
and
m = 14
and you can check that it is true by plugging these numbers into the problem...