Question

Salma, Felipe, and Eric sent a total of 82 text messages during the weekend. Felipe sent 7 more messages than Salma. Eric sent 3 times as many messages as Salma. How many messages did they each send?

Answer 1

Eric and Felipe's messages are described in terms of Salmas's, so:

Salma's = x                     3x+x+x+7=82
Eric's = 3x                               5x+7=82
Felipe's = x+7                              5x=75
                                                      x=15
Salma wrote 15 messages, Eric wrote 45, and Felipe wrote 22.  15+45+22=82