a) Let x represent the amount that each friend started with. If each friend spent $6, it means that the amount left for each friend is
x - 6
Since they are 3 in number, the total amount left is
3(x - 6)
Since they ended with a total of $24, the equation would be
3(x - 6) = 24
b) Dividing both sides of the equation by 3, we have
x - 6 = 8
x = 8 + 6
x = 14
