The ratio of Natalie’s markers to Susan’s markers was 5:3 at first. After Natalie gave 25 markers to Susan, they had an equal amount of markers each. How many markers did they have altogether?
n/s = 5/3
n-25 = s+25
5s/3 - 25 = s+25
2s/3 = 50
s=75
so, n=125
n+s=200
To solve this problem, we can set up an equation based on the given information.
Let's assume Natalie initially had 5x markers and Susan had 3x markers.
After Natalie gave 25 markers to Susan, Natalie has 5x - 25 markers, and Susan has 3x + 25 markers.
According to the problem, they had an equal amount of markers after this exchange, so we can set up an equation:
5x - 25 = 3x + 25
Now, let's solve for x:
Subtract 3x from both sides of the equation:
5x - 3x - 25 = 3x - 3x + 25
2x - 25 = 25
Add 25 to both sides of the equation:
2x - 25 + 25 = 25 + 25
2x = 50
Divide both sides of the equation by 2:
(2x)/2 = 50/2
x = 25
Now we know that x = 25. We can substitute this value back into our initial expressions to find the number of markers each person has:
Natalie initially had 5x markers = 5 * 25 = 125 markers
Susan initially had 3x markers = 3 * 25 = 75 markers
After the exchange, Natalie had 125 - 25 = 100 markers.
Susan had 75 + 25 = 100 markers.
Therefore, they had a total of 100 + 100 = 200 markers altogether.