Two boys divided $3.36 so that one boy received 12 cents less than three times as much as the other. How was the money divided?
So one boy had x and the other one had 3x-0.12. The sum of these two is 3.36. So solve the equation 3.36 = x + (3x - 0.12)
To solve this problem, let's set up two equations.
Let's assume that one boy received x dollars, and the other boy received y dollars.
According to the problem, the first equation is:
x + y = 3.36
Now let's apply the second condition given in the problem. It states that one boy received 12 cents less than three times as much as the other. In other words, we can express this as:
x = 3y - 0.12
Now we have a system of two equations with two variables. We can solve this system to find the values of x and y.
We can solve this system of equations using the method of substitution or elimination. For this explanation, let's solve it using the method of substitution.
Substitute the value of x from the second equation into the first equation:
(3y - 0.12) + y = 3.36
Now, simplify the equation:
4y - 0.12 = 3.36
Add 0.12 to both sides:
4y = 3.36 + 0.12
4y = 3.48
Divide both sides by 4:
y = 3.48 / 4
y = 0.87
Now substitute the value of y back into the second equation:
x = 3(0.87) - 0.12
x = 2.61 - 0.12
x = 2.49
So, one boy received $2.49, and the other boy received $0.87.