Regan's class is preparing for a field trip. Her teacher purchased bottled water for the trip and asked Regan to stock a cooler with 2 bottles for every student who is going. 3 of the students didn't turn in permission slips and aren't going on the trip. So, Regan stocks the cooler with 46 bottles of water. What is the total number of students in Regan's class?

Question

students

Answer 1

Let the total number of students in Regan's class be \( x \). Since 3 students didn't turn in permission slips, the number of students going on the trip is \( x - 3 \).

Regan is stocking 2 bottles of water for each student going, which means the total number of bottles stocked is:

\[ 2(x - 3) \]

We know that Regan stocked 46 bottles of water, so we can set up the equation:

\[ 2(x - 3) = 46 \]

Now, we will solve for \( x \):

1. Divide both sides by 2:

\[ x - 3 = 23 \]

2. Add 3 to both sides:

\[ x = 26 \]

Thus, the total number of students in Regan's class is \( \boxed{26} \).