Write a multi-step word problem that makes sense about Jeff and cookies using this expression
1/2x + 3 + 4 = 12
and
1/3x + 5 + 8 = 20
Jeff has a cookie jar with some cookies in it. He wants to divide the cookies into two equal parts. He counts the cookies and finds that there are 12 cookies in the first part and 20 cookies in the second part. How many cookies were in the cookie jar originally?
Let x represent the number of cookies in the cookie jar.
We can set up two equations to solve for x:
1/2x + 3 + 4 = 12
1/3x + 5 + 8 = 20
Subtract 3 from both sides of the first equation to get:
1/2x + 4 = 9
Subtract 5 from both sides of the second equation to get:
1/3x + 8 = 15
Multiply both sides of the first equation by 2 to get:
x + 8 = 18
Subtract 8 from both sides of the equation to get:
x = 10
Therefore, there were originally 10 cookies in the cookie jar.