Lizzy: Claire was in charge of passing out free balloons to all the children at the fair. She started with 50 balloons. While passing 1 balloon to a little girl, 12 balloons floated away. Over the next thirty minutes, she gave 9 more away and grabbed the last 11 from her coworker. How many balloons does Claire have?.
Me: Hmmm, let me think. I think this is the detailed solution:
As she gave 1 balloon out, 12 balloons floated away plus she gave away 9 more balloons so she is down 1 + 12 + 9 = 22 balloons. She started with 50 and gave / lost 22 balloons so she has 50 - 22 = 28 balloons. She also took her coworkers last 11 balloons so her new total is 28 + 11 = 39 balloons. Final answer: 39.