Sharon spent $2 on a magazine; then she spent half of the rest of her money on shoes. She spent half of her remaining money on lunch. She has $12 left. How much money did sharon start with?
X= X+2+(a÷2)+(b÷2)+12
start with x
spend 2 on magazine, leaving x-2
spend (x-2)/2 on shoes, leaving (x-2)/2
spend ((x-2)/2)/2 leaving (x-2)/4
(x-2)/4 = 12
x = 50
check:
start with 50
spend 2, leaving 48
spend half, leaving 24
spend half, leaving 12
To find out how much money Sharon started with, we need to work backward from the information given.
Let's start with the amount of money she has left, which is $12.
Sharon spent half of her remaining money on lunch, so before spending $12, Sharon had double that amount. Therefore, she had $12 * 2 = $<<12*2=24>>24 before spending it on lunch.
She also spent half of her remaining money on shoes, which means before spending $24, she had double that amount as well. Therefore, she had $24 * 2 = $<<24*2=48>>48 before spending it on shoes.
Finally, she spent $2 on a magazine, which means before spending $48, she had an additional $2. Therefore, she had $48 + $2 = $<<48+2=50>>50 at the start.
So, Sharon started with $50.