Question

Shilongo has a sum of money. He gave half of this money to his wife and then N$800, which is a third of the remainder, to his son Andrew. How much did Mr. Shilongo have at the beginning?

Answer 1

Let's denote the initial amount of money Mr. Shilongo had as \( x \).

1. He gave half of this money to his wife:
\[
\text{Amount given to wife} = \frac{x}{2}
\]
Therefore, the amount remaining after giving to his wife is:
\[
\text{Remaining amount} = x - \frac{x}{2} = \frac{x}{2}
\]

2. He then gave N$800 to his son Andrew, which he mentioned is a third of the remaining amount. This can be expressed as:
\[
\frac{1}{3} \left( \frac{x}{2} \right) = 800
\]

3. Now, we can set up the equation:
\[
\frac{x}{6} = 800
\]

4. Solving for \( x \):
\[
x = 800 \times 6
\]
\[
x = 4800
\]

Thus, Mr. Shilongo had **N$4800** at the beginning.