<p>I know the answer to this ACT math question..but I am not sure on how to get the answer to it. Could someone please explain?</p>
<p>Erin and Amy are playing poker. At a certain point in the game, Erin has 3 more chips than Amy. On the next hand, Erin wins 4 more chips from Amy. Now how many more chips does Erin have than Amy?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Let E1 and A1 be how many they have at the first point. E1=A1+3.</p>
<p>Let E2 and A2 be how many they have at the second point. E2=E1+4 and A2=A1-4.</p>
<p>You are looking for the difference E2-A2 = (E1+4) - (A1-4) = (A1+3) +4 - (A1-4).</p>
<p>E2-A2 = 11</p>
<p>^^ Sylvan is a very variable-inclined individual =D</p>
<p>The trick I use to solve a lot of ACT math problems is to use my own numbers. So in the context of this problem, they don’t specify exactly how many chips the two players start out with…merely that Erin has 3 more chips than Amy. </p>
<p>So why not arbitrarily let Erin start out having 13 chips and Amy with 10. Then on the next round, we know that Erin wins 4 more chips from Amy…that translates to Erin having 13+4 chips and Amy with 10-4 chips. So you are left with Erin now having 17 chips and Amy with 6. Finally, 17-6=11. Done!</p>
<p>I tend to use variables as well, but not nearly as many as sylvan8798. Let a and a+3 be the number of chips that Amy and Erin have, respectively. Erin wins 4 chips, so Amy has a-4 and Erin has (a+3)+4 = a+7. Subtract them and you get 11.</p>
<p>Alternatively, you can pick numbers that differ by 3.</p>
<p>lol, maybe because sylvan has a math degree…:)</p>
<p>11… You must have overlooked the fact that when erin got 4 more chips, amy also lost 4 chips…</p>