Serene had 4/7 as many as many chocolates as Melvin. Melvin had 4/5 as many chocolates as Esther. If Esther had 38 more chocolates than Serene, find the total number of chocolates that was shared among these 3 children at first

Answer 1

s = 4/7 m
m = 4/5 e
e = 38+s
solve for s,m,e and you find that
32+56+70 = 158

Answer 2

let the number of Esther’s be x
Melvin: 4/5x
Serene: 4/7 * 4/5x = 16/35x
x - 16/35x = 38
19/35x = 38
x = 38 * 35/19
x = 70
the total number = 70 + 4/5 * 70 + 16/35 * 70
= 70 + 56 + 32
= 158