Elisa is making a necklace. She wants to use 12 more blue beads than white beads. She will use 60 beads altogether. How many white beads should she use?

1 Answer
Dec 27, 2016

She can make "reservations" for the extra blue beads.

Explanation:

Which leaves #60-12=48# places left to be equally divided by white and blue. In other words: 24 white and 24+12=36 blue.

Algebraically you would write down:
#B=W+12#
#B+W=60#

If you replace the #B# in the second equation by #W+12#:

#(W+12)+W=60->#
#2xxW+12=60->#
#2xxW=60-12=48->#

#W=48//2=24->#
#B=W+12=24+12=36#