Problem:
Bridget bought a bag of apples at the grocery store. She gave half of the apples to Ann. Then she gave Cassie apples, keeping apples for herself. How many apples did Bridget buy?
Answer Choices:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Solution:
Work backwards. Bridget had apples before she gave Cassie apples. These apples were half of Bridget's original apples.
Let Bridget's original number of apples.
So Bridget originally had apples.
Answer: .
The problems on this page are the property of the MAA's American Mathematics Competitions