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Ricardo lost 6 golf balls while playing yesterday. He bought a box of 12 golf balls, then lost 4 on the course today. He now has 18 golf balls. How many golf balls did Ricardo have to start with? What’s the first step to figuring this problem?

Respuesta :

Ricardo had to start with 16 golf balls.

Explanation

First we will assume that the number of golf balls in starting was [tex] x [/tex]

He lost 6 golf balls while playing yesterday, that means remaining number of the balls [tex] = x-6 [/tex]

Today he bought 12 golf balls , so now the number of balls [tex] = (x-6) +12 = x+6 [/tex]

Then he lost 4 balls on the course today, so the remaining number of balls [tex] = (x+6) -4 = x+2 [/tex]

The question says that he now has 18 golf balls, that means...

[tex] x+2 = 18\\\\ x=18-2\\\\ x= 16 [/tex]

So, Ricardo had to start with 16 golf balls.