Question

Zal picked 12 cherries from one tree and 3 from another. He picked 8 more cherries than Karen picked. How many cherries did Karen pick?

Answer 1

Based on the question, Karen picked 7 cherries!

Explanation:

We know that
Zal's Total - Karen's Total = 8 since that's how many more cherries Zal picked.

We also know that `"Zal picked 12 cherries from one tree and 3 from another"`

Which means that Zal picked 12+3=15 cherries

So if Zal's Total is 15, the first equation becomes:

15 - Karen's Total = 8

Let's call Karen's Total `K_T` to make writing easier.

The next step is to move `K_T` to the Right Hand Side of the equation, by adding `K_T` to both sides:

`15 - cancel(K_T) + cancel(K_T)=8+K_T`

Then subtract 8 from both sides, and get your answer!

`15 - 8=cancel(8)+K_T-cancel(8)`
`7=K_T="Karen's Total"`