Question

There are 3/5 as many boys as girls at a picnic. There are 18 fewer boys than girls. How many children are there at the picnic

Answer 1

Let G=number of girls, then 3G/5=number of boys. Also G-3G/5=2G/5=18.

Multiply both sides by 5/2: G=18*5/2=45.

So G=45=number of girls, 3*45/5=27=number of boys and 45-27=18.

45+27=72 children at the picnic.