Adam won 66 pieces of gum playing hoops at the county fair. At school he gave 2 to every student in his math class. He only has 4 remaining.

Question

how many students are in his class? 

 

 

8th  grade math

Answer 1

Here's what we know:

66 - 2s = 4 (he started with 66 pieces and gave 2 to each student, leaving him with only 4)

 

What we need to do is isolate s. Start by subtracting 66 to both sides:

66 - 2s - 66 = 4 - 66

-2s = -62

Now we divide both sides by -2:

-2s/-2 = -62/-2

s = 31

 

Check:

66 - 2 * 31 = 4

66 - 62 = 4

4 = 4

Answer 2

He had 66, gave all away, but was left with 4, thus he gave (66-4) 62 pieces to his classmates. He gave each classmate 2. Hence, 62/2 = 31 students in his class to which he gave candy. Including himself, the number of students in each class is (31 +1) 32.