Joey has eight marbles more than Ben but 14 less than Jason. The three boys have 87 marbles all together. How many marbles does Ben have

Answer 1

Let's set up equations for each boy:

Let B represent the number of marbles Ben has.
Joey has 8 more than Ben: J = B + 8
Jason has 14 more than Joey: L = J + 14

We also know that the total number of marbles is 87:
B + J + L = 87

Substitute the expressions for Joey and Jason's marbles in terms of Ben's marbles into the total equation:
B + (B + 8) + (B + 8 + 14) = 87
B + B + 8 + B + 22 = 87
3B + 30 = 87
3B = 57
B = 19

Therefore, Ben has 19 marbles.