A, B, C and D play a game of cards. A says to B, "If I give you 8 cards, you will have as many as C has and I shall have 3 less than what C has. Also, if I take 6 cards from C, I shall have twice as many as D has". If B and D together have 50 cards, then number of cards A has :
UKPSC Lower PCS - 2025,
Answer: C
A has 40 cards.
Translate the statements. Giving 8 to B: B + 8 = C and A - 8 = C - 3. Taking 6 from C: A + 6 = 2D. Also B + D = 50.
\[ \begin{aligned} C &= A - 5,\quad B = C - 8 = A - 13,\quad D = \tfrac{A + 6}{2} \\ (A - 13) + \tfrac{A + 6}{2} &= 50 \Rightarrow 3A = 120 \Rightarrow A = 40 \end{aligned} \]
Check: B = 27, C = 35, D = 23, and B + D = 50. 27 is B's count, and 30 and 45 do not satisfy the equations.
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