Questions: A superior recently asked his nemesis how many cats she has. She answered with a riddle: "One-half of my cats plus four." How many cats does this nemesis have?

A superior recently asked his nemesis how many cats she has. She answered with a riddle: "One-half of my cats plus four."

How many cats does this nemesis have?

Transcript text: A superior recently asked his nemesis how many cats she has. She answered with a riddle: "One-half of my cats plus four." How many cats does this nemesis have? The nemesis has cats

Solution

Solution Steps

Step 1: Define the variable

Let \( x \) represent the number of cats the nemesis has.

Step 2: Translate the riddle into an equation

The riddle states: "One-half of my cats plus four." This can be written as: \[ \frac{1}{2}x + 4 = x \]

Step 3: Solve the equation

Subtract \(\frac{1}{2}x\) from both sides to isolate the variable: \[ 4 = x - \frac{1}{2}x \] \[ 4 = \frac{1}{2}x \]

Multiply both sides by 2 to solve for \( x \): \[ x = 8 \]

Final Answer

\[ \boxed{8} \]

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