Question

writing about redistributing equally
maria has 14 pencils, ted has 9 pencils, tom has 12
pencils, lucinda has 13 pencils, and jumana has 12
pencils. how can they redistribute the pencils so that they
all have the same amount? how many pencils should
each person have?

Explanation:

Step1: Calculate the total number of pencils

$$14 + 9+12 + 13+12$$
$$=(14 + 13)+(9 + 12+12)$$
$$=27+(9 + 24)$$
$$=27 + 33$$
$$=60$$

Step2: Calculate the number of people

There are \(5\) people (Maria, Ted, Tom, Lucinda, Jumana).

Step3: Find the number of pencils per person

We divide the total number of pencils by the number of people. So, \(\frac{60}{5}=12\)

To redistribute:

• Maria has \(14\) pencils. She should give \(14 - 12=2\) pencils.
• Ted has \(9\) pencils. He should receive \(12 - 9 = 3\) pencils.
• Tom has \(12\) pencils. He doesn't need to give or receive.
• Lucinda has \(13\) pencils. She should give \(13 - 12 = 1\) pencil.
• Jumana has \(12\) pencils. She doesn't need to give or receive.

Answer:

Each person should have \(12\) pencils. Maria gives \(2\) pencils (maybe to Ted), Lucinda gives \(1\) pencil (maybe to Ted) so that Ted gets the \(3\) pencils he needs to reach \(12\).