Question

Katie gives Maggie half of her pencils. Maggie keeps 5 pencils and gives the rest to Jamil. A. Write an expression for the number of pencils Maggie gives to Jamil. B. If Katie had 16 pencils, how many pencils does Maggie give to Jamil?

Answer 1

Answer:

A. (y/2) - 5,  B. 3                    

Explanation:

Lets assume that the total number of pencils is y.

Katie gives Maggie half, i.e. = $\frac{y}{2}$

Hence Maggie has $\frac{y}{2}$ pencils

If Maggie keeps 5 pencils and give the rest to Jamil, the expression for the number of pencils Maggie gives to Jamil therefore is;

Expression of pencil given to Jamil = (y/2) - 5

B.

To get the number of pencils Maggie gave to Jamil if Katie had 16 pencils, simply substitute y as 16.

(16/2) - 5

No of pencil given to Jamil = 8 - 5

                                             = 3