Liam has 3 times as many trading cards as Noah. Together they have 56 cards. How many cards does Noah have?
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Answer & Explanation
Correct answer
A
'Liam has 3 times as many as Noah' makes Noah 1 part and Liam 3 parts, so the pair holds 4 parts in all. Four parts equal 56, one part is 56 ÷ 4 = 14, and Noah, the 1-part person, has 14 cards, choice (A). Confirm: Liam 42 plus Noah 14 is 56.
The modal trap is (B) 18, dividing 56 by 3 because the stem says 'times 3'; the 3 is a comparison, not the number of shares. (D) 42 solves correctly but reports Liam. (C) 28 splits evenly, ignoring the ratio. (E) 56 hands back the total. Count the parts, divide the total by all of them, then answer for the person named: 14.