To solve the problem, we can set up an equation based on the operations described in the scenario. Let's denote the number of stickers Rita initially had as \( x \).
The steps can be broken down as follows:
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Giving Half Away: When Rita gives half of her stickers to her friend, she has \( \frac{x}{2} \) stickers left.
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Receiving from Brother: After that, her brother gives her 8 stickers, so now she has: \[ \frac{x}{2} + 8 \]
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Ending Up with 12 Stickers: According to the problem, she ends up with 12 stickers. We can set up the equation: \[ \frac{x}{2} + 8 = 12 \]
Now, to solve for \( x \), we can use the following arithmetic operations:
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Subtraction: First, subtract 8 from both sides: \[ \frac{x}{2} = 12 - 8 \] \[ \frac{x}{2} = 4 \]
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Multiplication: Next, multiply both sides by 2 to solve for \( x \): \[ x = 4 \times 2 \] \[ x = 8 \]
Thus, the arithmetic operations used are subtraction and multiplication to find that Rita originally had 8 stickers.