a thief steals a number of rare plants from a nursery, on the way out the thief meets three security guards, one after another, to each security guard, the thief is forced to give one-half the plants that he still has, plus 2 more, the theif is left with one plant, how many plants were originally stolen?

so this is how i set it up:
.5(3x+2)=1
and i get zero which is wrong

see my reply to you here:

http://www.jiskha.com/display.cgi?id=1226458344.1226463337

Let's break down the problem step by step to find the correct solution.

1. Let's assume that the number of plants originally stolen is represented by 'x'.

2. According to the problem, when the thief meets the first security guard, he has to give away half of the plants he has (which is x/2) plus 2 more plants. So, after meeting the first guard, the thief is left with (x/2 + 2) plants.

3. When the thief meets the second security guard, he again has to give away half of the plants he has. Therefore, he gives away ((x/2 + 2)/2) + 2 = (x/4 + 1) + 2 plants.

4. After meeting the second guard, the thief is left with ((x/4 + 1) + 2) plants.

5. Finally, when the thief meets the third security guard, he again gives away half of the remaining plants. So, he gives away (((x/4 + 1) + 2)/2) + 2 = ((x/8) + 1/2) + 2 plants.

6. Since the thief is left with only one plant after meeting the third guard, we can now set up the equation as follows:

((x/8) + 1/2) + 2 = 1

7. Solving this equation will give us the value of x, which represents the original number of plants stolen.

((x/8) + 5/2) = 1
(x/8) = 1 - 5/2
(x/8) = (2/2) - (5/2)
(x/8) = -3/2
x = -3/2 * 8
x = -3 * 4
x = -12

8. However, we cannot have a negative number of plants in this case, so we need to reconsider our steps.

It seems that there was an error in the setup or the interpretation of the problem. Please double-check the given information to verify if there are any missing details or errors.

To solve this problem, you need to set up and solve an equation based on the given information.

Let's assume that the number of plants initially stolen by the thief is represented by "x."

According to the problem, when the thief meets the first security guard, he gives away half of the plants he has plus 2 more, leaving him with one plant:

(x/2) + 2 = (x - (x/2) - 2)

Now, let's move on to the second security guard. The thief again gives away half of the plants he has, which is (x - (x/2) - 2), plus 2 more, leaving him with one plant:

[(x - (x/2) - 2)/2] + 2 = 1

Lastly, let's consider the third security guard. Applying the same logic, we can set up the following equation:

[([(x - (x/2) - 2)/2] + 2)/2] + 2 = 1

Now, we need to solve this equation to find the value of "x."

[(x - (x/2) - 2)/2] + 2 = 1
[(2x - x - 4)/2] + 2 = 1
(x - 4)/2 + 2 = 1
(x - 4)/2 = -1
x - 4 = -2
x = 2 + 4
x = 6

Therefore, the thief originally stole 6 rare plants from the nursery.