Question 1047410

Hi, I have a word problem I need help with.
Four friends have different numbers of cows on their farms. Jorge has 3 times as many cows as Carla. Marcus has half as many cows as Jorge. Dominick has 2 less than 4 times as many cows as Carla. How many cows does each person have if they have a total of 169 cows?

I'm having a problem with the equations of Marcus and Dominik.And I'm not sure how to write the equations of either of them. But isn't Carla "X", and Jorge " 3X"?
Thank you.
<pre>Yes, if Carla's number is X, then Jorge's is: 3X

Anyway, let's do it my way!
Let number of cows Carla has be C
Then Jorge has 3C
Marcus' count: {{{matrix(1,5, (1/2), of, 3C, or, 3C/2)}}}
Dominick's count: 4C - 2
Since the sum is 169, then we get: {{{C + 3C + 3C/2 + 4C - 2 = 169}}}
{{{8C + 3C/2 - 2 = 169}}}
{{{8C + 3C/2 = 171}}}
16C + 3C = 342 ------- Multiplying by LCD, 2
19C = 342 
C, or Carla has: {{{highlight_green(matrix(1,3, 342/19, or, highlight(matrix(1,2, 18, cows))))}}} 
Jorge has: 3(18)
Marcus has: {{{3(18)/2}}}
Dominick has: 4(18) - 2
I'm sure you're able to calculate the last 3.
See how easy that was? It's not COMPLEX at all.