the question is Alyssa ate 3 more than 1/2 as many candy corns as Hayley. If Alyssa ate 17 candy corn, find the number of candy corn Hayley ate?

First I thought to do 17-3=14
14x2=28
This was my first thought but then I wondered if you multiplied first
17x2=34 and then adding the +3
giving you 37
I think the first way is the correct way but I am not sure.
Can you help verify which step would be done first?
thanks

If Hayley ate h, then since we know Alyssa ate 17,

h/2 + 3 = 17
h/2 = 14
h = 28

Alyssa ate 3 more than 14, which is half of 28

Your first way was correct.

You should have gotten a bad feeling about 37 right away, since 1/2 of 37 is not a whole number.

I didn't think the second way was right. Thanks for clarifying it for me.

Sure, I can help you with that!

To find the number of candy corn Hayley ate, we need to break down the information given in the question.

Let's start with the equation: Alyssa ate 3 more than 1/2 as many candy corns as Hayley.

We can represent the number of candy corn that Hayley ate as 'x'. According to the equation, Alyssa ate 3 more than 1/2 of Hayley's candy corns. Mathematically, this can be written as:

Alyssa = (1/2)x + 3

We are given that Alyssa ate 17 candy corn, so we can substitute that into the equation:

17 = (1/2)x + 3

Now, let's solve the equation:

Subtract 3 from both sides:

17 - 3 = (1/2)x
14 = (1/2)x

To isolate x (the number of candy corn Hayley ate), we need to multiply both sides of the equation by 2:

2 * 14 = 2 * (1/2)x
28 = x

Therefore, Hayley ate 28 candy corns.

To summarize:
- Start with the equation Alyssa = (1/2)x + 3.
- Substitute Alyssa's value (17) into the equation.
- Solve the resulting equation 14 = (1/2)x to find x, which represents the number of candy corn Hayley ate.
- Multiply both sides of the equation by 2 to isolate x.
- Therefore, Hayley ate 28 candy corns.

So, your first thought of subtracting 3 from 17 and then multiplying by 2 is the correct way to find the number of candy corn Hayley ate.