Answer:
A
Step-by-step explanation:
First, let's label the variables:
[tex]\text{Let }x \text{ represent Kaylee's number of pens,}\\\text{Let }L \text{ represent Lou's number of pens,}\\\text{And let }I \text{ represent Ilene's number of pens.}[/tex]
The first and second sentence, Kaylee at the start has x pens. She gave half to Lou, who started out with two fewer than Kaylee.
In other words, the total Lou now has is:
[tex]L=(\frac{1}{2}x )+(x-2)[/tex]
The first term represents what Kaylee gave to Lou. The second term represents what Lou had originally (two fewer than Kaylee [x]).
Simplifying, we get:
[tex]L=\frac{3}{2}x-2[/tex]
Third sentence. Lou give half of his new total to Ilene, who started out with three fewer pens than Lou. Lou, remember, started with three fewer than Kaylee (x-2). In other words:
[tex]I=(\frac{1}{2}(\frac{3}{2}x-2) )+((x-2)-3)[/tex]
The left represents what is given to Ilene: one-third of Lou's new total. The right represents Ilene's original total: three fewer than Lou: or five fewer than Kaylee. Simplifying gives:
[tex]I=(\frac{3}{4} x-1)+(x-5)\\I=\frac{7}{4}x-6[/tex]
Finally, Ilene gives a third of this new amount to Kaylee, and Kaylee's final amount is 37. Thus:
[tex]37=x-\frac{1}{2}x+\frac{1}{3}(\frac{7}{4}x-6)[/tex]
The first term represents what Kaylee originally started with. The second term represents what she gave to Lou. And the third term represents what Ilene gave to Kaylee. Simplify:
[tex]37=\frac{1}{2}x+\frac{7}{12}x-2\\39=\frac{6}{12}x+\frac{7}{12}x \\39=\frac{13}{12}x\\ 468=13x\\x=36[/tex]
