James has four times as many stamps as David.

Question

James has four times as many stamps as David. David has 50 more stamps than Joshua. They have 502 stamps altogether. How many stamps does James have?

Please tell me the final answer.

Answer 1

Lets represent the number of stamps each person has respectively for James as JA, for Joshua as JO, and for David as D. We know their stamps sum up to 502. So, JA + JO + D=502. James has 4 times as many tickets as David, so we know JA=4D. We also know that David has 50 more stamps than Joshua, so D=JO + 50. With three equations and three unknowns, we can solve for the number of stamps James has, but first I will solve for the number of stamps Joshua has. D=JO + 50. So, JA=4D=4(JO + 50)=4JO + 200. JA=4JO + 200. We know that 502=JA + JO + D, plugging in D=JO + 50 and JA=4JO + 200, we have that 502=(4JO + 200) + JO + (JO +50). Combining like terms we get 502=6JO +250. To get JO by itself we subtract 250 from either side, so now 252=6JO. DIviding both sides by 6 gives 42=JO. Joshua has 42 stamps. To determine how many stamps James has we go back to JA=4JO +200. Plugging in JO=42 we get JA=4(42) + 200, and therefore JA=168 + 200=368. James has 368 stamps. This is your final answer. I hope this was helpful.

Answer 2

Ja = 4D, D = Jo + 50,

Ja+D+Jo = 502

Solve the three equations to get  Jo = 42, D = 92, Ja = 368.