First of all I don't just need the answer I need it explained where a third grader can understand it. I actually know the answer, but I don't know how to explain it to a third grader. ?Doug has 170 stamps in his collection. His first book of stamps has 30 more stamps in it than his second book. How many stamps are in each book? Thanks

Wouldn't first + (first +30) be 170

so two firsts would be 140 so the first would be ....
and the second one 30 more.

I still don't quite get how you are explaining it. Can you explain in a different way?

To help a third grader understand this problem, we can break it down into smaller steps.

Step 1: Let's denote the number of stamps in the second book as "x".
Remember, the problem says that the first book has 30 more stamps than the second book.

Step 2: Since the first book has 30 more stamps, we can say the number of stamps in the first book is "x + 30".

Step 3: Now, let's add the number of stamps in both books together. According to the problem, Doug has a total of 170 stamps.

So, the equation will be: x + (x + 30) = 170.

Step 4: Next, we can simplify the equation. By combining like terms, we get: 2x + 30 = 170.

Step 5: To solve for "x", we need to subtract 30 from both sides of the equation. This gives us: 2x = 140.

Step 6: Finally, let's find the value of "x" by dividing both sides of the equation by 2. This gives us: x = 70.

That means, the second book has 70 stamps, and since the first book has 30 more stamps, the first book has 70 + 30 = 100 stamps.

So, there are 70 stamps in the second book and 100 stamps in the first book.