Question: Delta, Beta and Gamma decided to share 40 donuts. Delta took 8 donuts and Beta took three times as many as Gamma. How many donuts did Gamma receive? Think carefully first, then make a decision:
Let x = the number of donuts Gamma took. The total donuts Gamma and Beta have is 40 - 8 = 32 donuts. 3x is the number of donuts for Beta. 3x + x is the number of total donuts for Beta and Gamma. If we add the two x terms, we get 4x = 32. If we divide both sides by 4, we get x = 8, so Gamma has 8 donuts. So the answer is 8.