Phillip, Andy, Roger and Jace by candies. Phillip buys twice as many as Jace. Jace buys 7 less than Andy. Andy buys 17 more than Roger. In all, they buy 167 candies. How many did each person buy?
Let x = the number that Roger bought
Let x + 17 = the number Andy bought
Let x + 10 be the number Jace bought {7 less than Andy}
Let 2(x + 10) be the number that Philip bought
So we have
x + ( x + 17) + (x + 10) + 2(x + 10) = 167 simplify
5x + 47 = 167 subtract 37 from each side
5x = 120 divide both sides by 5
x = 24 = Roger's total
x + 17 = 41 = Andy's total
x + 10 = 34 = Jace's total
2(x + 10) = 68 = Philip's total
Check........24 + 41 + 34 + 68 = 167 (√√√)
