Question

Alice has 12 more trees in her garden than Stephen has. After Stephen planted 10 more trees and Alice dug out 4, together they had 36 trees. How many trees did each of them have at the beginning?

Answer 1

Stephen has 9 trees

Alice has 21 trees

Explanation:

Alice has 12 more trees in her garden than Stephen has. After Stephen planted 10 more trees and Alice dug out 4, together they had 36 trees. How many trees did each of them have at the beginning?

Answer 2

Stephen has 9 trees

Alice has 21 trees

Explanation:

At the beginning:

Stephen = x trees

Alice = x + 12 trees

At the end:

Alice = (x + 12) - 4 trees

Stephen = x + 10 trees

Total = 36

Then

`((x+12)-4)+(x+10)=36\\ \\(x+12-4)+(x+10)=36\\ \\(x+8)+(x+10)=36\\ \\x+8+x+10=36\\ \\2x+18=36\\ \\2x+18-18=36-18\\ \\2x=18\\ \\x=9`

Stephen - 9 trees

Alice - 9 + 12 = 21 trees