In a chest there are some gold coins. Captain takes half the coins. Sally takes a quarter of the coins. There are 3 coins left. How many coins were in the chest at the start?

There were 12 gold coins in the chest at the start.

Step-by-step explanation:

1. Let's review the information given to us to answer the question correctly:

x = Number of gold coins in a chest

1/2x = Number of gold coins taken by the captain

1/4x = Number of gold coins taken by Sally

3 = Number of gold coins left

2. How many coins were in the chest at the start?

Let's write the following equation to solve for x:

1/2x + 1/4x + 3 = x

2x + x + 12 = 4x (Lowest Common Denominator is 4)

4x - 2x - x = 12 (Like terms)

x = 12

There were 12 gold coins in the chest at the start.