Question 1130073
Three merchants find a purse lying in the road. there are 60 coins (of equal value) in the purse,   
a, b, c
write an equation for each statement, simplify as much as possible
One merchant says
 “If I keep the purse, 1 shall have twice as much money as the two of you together” 
a + 60 = 2(b+c)
a = 2b + 2c - 60
a - 2b - 2c = -60
“Give me the purse and I shall have three times as much as the two of you together” said the second merchant.
b + 60 = 3(a+c)
b = 3a + 3c - 60
-3a + b - 3c = -60
" The third merchant said “I shall be much better off than either of you if I keep the purse, I shall have five times as much as the two of you together.”
c + 60 = 5(a+b)
c = 5a + 5b - 60
-5a - 5b + c = -60
:
The easiest way is to use the 3 X 4 matrix feature on your calc and enter
1  -2  -2  -60
-3  1  -3  -60
-5 -5  1  - 60
from this we get the amt each merchant has: 
a = 4
b = 12
c = 20
:
You can check this yourself in each statement.