Haley has 48 colored pencils and 3 cups (A, B, C). Cup A holds one more colored pencil than cup C. Cup B holds 2 more colored pencils than cup C. How many pencils does cup B contain?

17 pencils

Step-by-step explanation:

Assume that cup C holds x pencils. In this case, cup A holds x + 1 pencils, and cup B holds x + 2 pencils. We know that all of the cups together hold 48 pencils. If we add what we got together, we would get x + x + 1 + x + 2 = 48. 2x + 1 + x + 2 = 48. 2x + x + 1 + 2 = 48. 3x + 1 + 2 = 48. 3x + 3 = 48. 3x = 48 - 3. 3x = 45. x = 45 / 3. x = 15. Now, we know that cup C holds 15 pencils, and from here, we can find the number of pencils in cup B by adding 2 to 15 and getting 17, and that would be your answer.

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