During the hot dog eating contest, the 1st competitor ate 12 hot dogs in 3 minutes. The 2nd competitor ate twice that amount and the 3rd competitor ate 25% less than the 2nd competitor. How many hotdogs did the 3rd competitor eat? Give me reasons, before answering the question
The 2nd competitor ate twice the amount of the 1st competitor's 12 hot dogs So he ate 2 * 12 = 24 hot dogs. The 3rd competitor ate 25% less than the 2nd's 24 hot dogs, which is 24 / 4 = 6 hot dogs. If the 2nd competitor ate 24 hot dogs, and the 3rd ate 25% less than that, then the 3rd competitor ate 24 - 6 = 18 hot dogs. So the final answer is 18.