Question

Matt the Magician had 6 times as many black balloons as blue balloons. After he gave away 50 black balloons, he found that he had an equal number of black and blue balloons left. How many balloons did Matt the Magician have at first?

Answer 1

Let B stand for black and b stand for blue.

B = 6b

B - 50 = b

6b - 50 = b

5b = 50

Take it from there.

Answer 2

black = 6 blue
bk = 6 b
bk - 50 = b
so
6 b - 50 = b
5 b = 50
b =10 blue
bk = 6*10 = 60 black
total = 70
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check
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6 * 10 = 60
(60-50) = 10 yes