Question

5. Bob and Joe have few marbles. If Bob gives 1/4th of
his marbles to Joe, Bob will have the same number
of marbles as Joe has. Instead, If Joe gives 1/4th of
his marbles to Bob, Bob will have three times the
number of marbles Joe has. How many marbles did
Bob originally have?​

Answer 1

Answer:

Let Bob & Joe have x & y marbles, respectively.

By condition 1,

3x/4 = y + x/4 so y = x/2.

By condition 2,

9y/4 = x + y/4 so again y = x/2.

However, we can draw 2 conclusions now :

Bob has twice as much marbles as Joe.

From 2nd equation, it's clear that y/4 = x/8 is a natural  number. So, number of marbles Bob has is a multiple of 8.

The given data in the question is insufficient for reaching the exact answer.

Answer 2

5. Bob and Joe have few marbles. If Bob gives 1/4th of

his marbles to Joe, Bob will have the same number

of marbles as Joe has. Instead, If Joe gives 1/4th of

his marbles to Bob, Bob will have three times the

number of marbles Joe has. How many marbles did

Bob originally have?