Question

Which of the following equations matches the given story? John has three times as many pencils as Noah and 5 pens. He has 17 pens and pencils all together. How many pencils does Noah have?
1) 5x + 3 = 17
2) 3x + 5 = 17
3) 3(x + 5) = 17
4) 5(x + 3) = 17

Answer 1

x = number of pencils Noah has

3x = number of pencils John has (3 times as much as Noah)

3x+5 = add on the 5 pens that John has

3x+5 = 17 is the final answer