Maria, Kareem, and Reuben sent a total of 74 text messages during the weekend. Maria sent 6 fewer messages than Kareem. Reuben sent 2 times as many messages as Kareem. How many messages did they each send?

Answer 1

Let x be the number of messages Kareem sent.
Maria sent x - 6 messages.
Reuben sent 2 * x messages.
The total number of messages sent is x + (x - 6) + 2 * x = 74 messages.
Combining like terms, we get 4 * x - 6 = 74
Adding 6 to both sides, we get 4 * x = 80
Dividing both sides by 4, we get x = <<20=20>>20 messages
Maria sent x - 6 = 20 - 6 = <<20-6=14>>14 messages
Reuben sent 2 * x = 2 * 20 = <<2*20=40>>40 messages.
Maria, Kareem, and Reuben sent, respectively, 14, 20, and 40 messages. Answer: \boxed{14, 20, 40}.