hannah has 16 more beany creatures than twice the number of oscars beany creatures. if they hay 49 beany creatures between them, how many does each child have?

Let's make an algebra equation to figure this out!

We need to understand that Oscar has x because that is what we are measuring Hannah's number by. Hannah has 16 + 2 times what Oscar has so 16 + 2x.

We know that Hannah plus Oscar's equals 49.

Set it up like this:

(16 + 2x) + (x) = 49

Now distribute.

16 + 3x = 49 (Subtract 16 from each side to leave the variable on the left)

3x = 49 - 16 (Divide both sides by 3 to leave the variable with no multiplier)

x = 33/3 = 11

So Oscar has 11 (x) and Hannah has 38 (2x + 16). 11 + 38 is 49,