Problem of the Week - Middle School - April 18, 2021 to April 24, 2021

Middle School: 

Question: Man Ray, Fay, and Battina were dogs featured in work by the famous photographer, William Wegman. Battina's photos are in 18 fewer than double the number of books Fay's photos are in. If Man Ray's photos are in 4 books, then how many books contain Battina's photos? 

Answer: 24 books

Solution: 

We can express the number of books featuring Fay and Battina in terms of the other dogs:

B = 2F - 18

F = 5M + 1

Man Ray was in 4 books, so M = 4. Plugging 4 into the first equation tells us that Fay was in 5(4) + 1 = 21 books, so F = 21. Plugging 21 into the second equation tells us that Battina was in 2(21) – 18 = 24 books.