Question

Trudy brought a large bag of wine gums to school. She gave half to the first student she met, half the remainder to the next and half of what she had left to the third student. The last 5 wine gums she ate. How many were in the packet?

Answer 1

Let N be the number she brought.
N/2 + N/4 + 1/8 N = N -5
N - 7N/8 = N/8 = 5
N = 40