Three boys had 144 erasers together. Alan gave some of his erasers to Bill and Bill's erasers doubled. Bill then gave some of his erasers to Charlie and Charlie's erasers doubled. In the end, the three boys had and equal number of erasers each. How many erasers did Alan have?
+129850 In the end, each had 144/3 = 48 erasers
So Charlie had 24 erasers before getting 24 from Bill
And Bill must have had ( 48 + 24) = 72 erasers before he gave some to Charlie
So.....Bill must have had 36 erasers to start out
Then Alan must have started out with 48 + 36 = 84 erasers
Proof
Alan starts with 84 and gives away 36 = he has 48 in the end
Bill starts with 36 gets 36 from Alan and gives away 24 = 36 + 36 - 24 = he has 48 in the end
Charlie starts out with 24 and ends up with twice this = 48
