Question

Liam had a number of chocolates in his pocket. he decided to give most of them away before they melted. so he gave two-thirds to Lucy, then one-fifth of the remainder to his mother, which left twelve for himself. what was the original amount of chocolates?

Answer 1

Let x be the original number of chocolates:-

x - (2/3)x  - (1/5)(x - (2/3)x) = 12
x - (2/3)x - (1/5)x + (2/15 )x = 12
15x - 10x - 3x + 2x = 180
4x = 180 
x = 45

original amount of chocolates = 45