Lily and Sara each had an equal amount of money at first. After Lily spent $18 and Sara spent $25, Lily had twice as much as Sara. How much money did each of them have at first?

Answer 1

Let the amount each had initially be x.

x - 18 = 2*(x - 25) = 2x - 50
x = 32

Answer 2

Here is your bar model:
This is a unit bar: [xxx]

Before - the had equal amounts, then they each spent some money. In the end, Lily has twice as much as Sara, or 2 units.

Lily [xxx][xxx]<----$18---->|
Sara [xxx]<-----$25-------->|

If they started out the same, the second unit bar for Lily must be equal to $25 - $18, so $7
[xxx]=$7
Lily had 2 units (2 x $7)+$18 at first.
Sara had 1 unit ($7)+$25 at first.

Answer 3

Thank you all family spend two hours to solve this problem with out x