There are three times as many people in the psychology class as in the art history class. there are 16 more people in the algebra class then the art history class The total enrollment of the three classes is 86. How many students are enrolled in each class?.

Question

So I know my equation involves 3, 16 and 8 . So am I multiplying and also dividing as well as subtracting?

Answer 1

Oops I meant to say 86.

Answer 2

call the classes p,h,a. The clues are:

p = 3h
a = h+16
p+a+h = 86

now start eliminating values:

p = 3h, so
3h+a+h = 86

a = h+16, so
3h + h+16 + h = 86
5h+16 = 86
5h = 70
h = 14
so, there are

14 art history students
42 psychology students
30 algebra students