Question

Shilongo has a sum of money. He gave half of this money to his wife and than N$ 800 to his son Andrew.
1. How much did Shilongo's wife get from her husband?
2. How much did Mr. Shilongo have at the beginning?

Answer 1

Let's denote the total amount of money Shilongo had at the beginning as \( x \).

1. Shilongo gave half of his money to his wife, so the amount his wife received is:
\[
\text{Amount to wife} = \frac{x}{2}
\]

2. After giving half of his money to his wife, he then gave N$ 800 to his son Andrew. So, he had:
\[
\text{Remaining money} = \frac{x}{2} - 800
\]

Since he started with \( x \) and gave away half to his wife, this means he should have enough to give the N$ 800 to Andrew as well. Hence, we set up the equation:
\[
\frac{x}{2} - 800 = 0
\]

This implies that he has zero money left after giving to his wife and son. To find \( x \), we can rearrange this equation:
\[
\frac{x}{2} = 800
\]
Multiplying both sides by 2, we find:
\[
x = 1600
\]

Now we can answer the questions:

1. The amount Shilongo's wife received:
\[
\text{Amount to wife} = \frac{x}{2} = \frac{1600}{2} = 800
\]

2. The total amount Mr. Shilongo had at the beginning is:
\[
N$ 1600
\]

Thus, Shilongo's wife received N$ 800, and Mr. Shilongo initially had N$ 1600.