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Question Two friends, Gauri and Naina, are cowherds. One day, they pass each other on the road with their cows. Gauri says to Naina, “You have twice as many cows as I do”. Naina says, “That’s true, but if I gave you three of my cows, we would each have the same number of cows”. How many cows do Gauri and Naina have?
Let x, y be the number of cows of Gauri and Naina. According to the question, 2x = y …(i) Also, x + 3 = y – 3 x – y = -3 – 3 = -6 ……(ii) From equations (i) and (ii), we get x – 2x = -6 ⇒ -x = -6 ⇒ x = 6 Putting x = 6 in equation (i), we get, y = 2 × 6 = 12 Thus, Gauri and Naina have 6 and 12 cows, respectively.