Jackie ate 1/3 of his crackers on a plate his brother ate 1/4 of crackers. There were 5 crackers left off on the plate. How many crackers were on the plate to begin with?
24
17
12
7
Let's assume the total number of crackers on the plate to begin with is x.
Jackie ate 1/3 of the crackers, so he ate (1/3)x crackers.
His brother ate 1/4 of the crackers, so his brother ate (1/4)x crackers.
The total number of crackers eaten is (1/3)x + (1/4)x = 5/12x crackers.
The number of crackers left on the plate is x - (1/3)x - (1/4)x = (12/12)x - (4/12)x - (3/12)x = (5/12)x.
Given that there were 5 crackers left on the plate, we know that (5/12)x = 5.
Multiplying both sides of the equation by 12/5, we get (12/5)*(5/12)x = (12/5)*5.
This simplifies to x = 12.
Therefore, the initial number of crackers on the plate was 12. So the answer is 12.