sarah shares a folder with emma. if there are 37 documents total and sarah has 11 less than emma, how many documents does each have in the folder?

Question

 the only answer i can think of is

emma 26

sarah 11

Answer 1

 

   You attempted to solve it numerically by guessing.

  Unfortunately, your answer is incorrect because Sarah has

  15 less documents than Emma, not 11.

 

   We now nothing about how many Emma has.

  THAT is where you assign the variable.

  Emma has X documents in the folder.

 

   Sarah has 11 less, so she has X-11

 

  X + X - 11= 37

 

 2x - 11 = 37

 

 2x = 48

 

  x = 24

 

 Emma has 24.

 Sarah as 13.