Question: Kevin repairs phones at his job. At the beginning of the day, Kevin has 15 phones that need to be repaired. By the afternoon, Kevin has successfully repaired 3 of the 15 phones and a client has dropped off 6 more phones that need fixing. If a coworker of Kevin's offers to help him and fix half of the damaged phones, how many phones will each person need to repair? Think carefully first, then make a decision:
Kevin begins the day with 15 phones and repairs 3 by the afternoon, so Kevin still has to repair 15 - 3 = 12 phones. A client drops off 6 additional phones that require fixing, increasing the total to 12 + 6 = 18 phones. If Kevin's coworker helps Kevin fix half of the phones, then each person needs to fix 18 / 2 = 9 phones. So the answer is 9.