Tasha has eight more fish than Oscar, who has twice as many fish as Cecilia. If altogether they have 148 fish, how many fish do each of them have?

Question

This is a problem my son had on a test and I have no idea where to start to help him understand how to approach this problem.

Answer 1

8 + os = t

      os = 2c

8 + 0s = 8 + 2c

Now, 0s + T + C = 148

2c + 8 + 2c + c = 148 =====> 5c + 8 = 148 ====> 5c = 140 ===> c = 28

Os = 2 * 28 = 56

t = 8 + 56 = 64

Answer 2

let C = number of fish that Cecilia has --- then, O = 2C, where O = number of fish that Oscar has --- and T = O + 8 = 2C + 8, where T = number of fish that Tasha has --- then, C + O + T = C + 2C + (2C + 8) = 148 --- or, 5C + 8 = 148 --- or, 5C = 140 --- or, C = 140/5 = 28 --- and, O = 2C = 2(28) = 56 --- and, T = O + 8 = 56 + 8 = 64