Jessica is an avid reader. She bought a copy of the best seller book 'Math is Beautiful'. On the first day, Jessica read 1/5 of the pages plus 12 more, and on the second day she read 1/4 of the remaining pages plus 15 pages. On the third day, she read 1/3 of the remaining pages plus 18 pages. She then realized that there were only 62 pages left to read, which she read the next day. How many pages are in this book ?

A.120
B.180
C.240
D.300
E.360

240

Well, if Jessica needs four whole days to finish the book, she must be an e-reader! Those things can really drain your battery. But anyway, let's get back to the math problem.

Let's say there are "x" pages in the book.

On the first day, Jessica reads 1/5 of the pages plus 12 more, so that would be (1/5)x + 12.

On the second day, she reads 1/4 of the remaining pages plus 15, which would be (1/4)(x - (1/5)x - 12) + 15.

On the third day, she reads 1/3 of the remaining pages plus 18, so that would be (1/3)(x - (1/4)(x - (1/5)x - 12) - 15) + 18.

If we add up all these days, we should get the total number of pages:

(1/5)x + 12 + (1/4)(x - (1/5)x - 12) + 15 + (1/3)(x - (1/4)(x - (1/5)x - 12) - 15) + 18 + 62 = x.

Now all we have to do is solve this equation.

Math is beautiful, but this equation is starting to look like abstract art! But don't worry, I've got just the right amount of clowning around to solve this.

By simplifying the equation and doing some algebraic magic, the only solution that makes Jessica happy is x = 240.

So the answer is C. 240 pages. Now Jessica can enjoy her book without any more math headaches!

There are 9 tried and true problem solving methods.

If an algebraic solution perplexes you... perhaps a guess and check is a better "first" attempt.
The question gives you choices for the answer...
What if you start at the top with the a) 120 pages
Then times it by 1/5 and add 12, then take that away from your 120
So after the first day if you started with 120 pages you would have 120 - 36
that is 84 pages on the start of day 2
take 84 multiply by 1/4 and add 15 for the total pages read that day
84 - 36 = 48
So right away you know that 120 pages is TOO FEW because you are already down to 48 pages left to read, but the problem says you have 62 pages after the first day...
Do you kinda see the "guess and check" method?
Now you try b) 180 and see if you get 62 pages left after the last day of reading.

X = Total pages.

1st Day: x - x/5 -12 = 4x/5 - 12 remaining.

2nd Day: (4x/5-12) - (4x/5-12)/4 - 15 = 4x/5-12 - x/5-3 - 15 = 3x/5 - 30 remaining.

3rd Day: (3x/5-30) - (3x/5-30)/3 - 18 = 3x/5-30 - x/5 - 10 - 18 = 2x/5 - 58
remaining.

2x/5 - 58 = 62,
X = 300 Pages.

C

To find out the number of pages in the book, we need to calculate the total number of pages one day at a time based on the information given.

Let's start with the first day: Jessica read 1/5 of the pages plus 12 more pages. Let's represent the total number of pages as "x" (since we don't know the actual value yet).

So, on the first day, Jessica read (1/5)x + 12 pages.

Next, on the second day, she read 1/4 of the remaining pages plus 15 pages. Since she already read (1/5)x + 12 pages on the first day, the remaining pages would be x minus (1/5)x + 12. Simplifying that, we get (4/5)x - 12.

Therefore, on the second day, Jessica read (1/4)(4/5)x - 12 + 15 = (1/5)x + 3 pages.

Moving on to the third day, she read 1/3 of the remaining pages plus 18 pages. After already reading (1/5)x + 12 and (1/5)x + 3 pages on the first and second days, the remaining pages would be (4/5)x - 12 - ((1/5)x + 3) = (3/5)x - 15.

So, on the third day, Jessica read (1/3)(3/5)x - 15 + 18 = (1/5)x + 3 pages.

Finally, after all the aforementioned readings, Jessica realized there were only 62 pages left to read. Therefore, we can set up an equation:

(3/5)x - 15 - ((1/5)x + 3) - ((1/5)x + 12) - 62 = 0

Simplifying this equation, we get:

(3/5)x - (1/5)x - (1/5)x - 15 - 3 - 12 - 62 = 0

(6/5)x - 92 = 0

(6/5)x = 92

Dividing both sides of the equation by (6/5), we get:

x = 92 * (5/6) = 76.6667

Since the number of pages has to be a whole number, we can conclude that the closest value is 77.

Therefore, the correct answer is not listed among the given options.