Good morning,
L= number of lions at the zoo
M= number of monkeys at the zoo, but we know that there were 3 times as many monkeys as lios, so: \(M=3L-->L= \frac{M}{3}\)
Tom counted a total of 24 monkeys and lions, so:
\(M+L=24 \\ \\ M+ \frac{M}{3} =24 \\ \\ \frac{4}{3}M=24 \\ \\ M= \frac{24*3}{4} \\ \\ M=18\)
Answer: There were 18 monkeys
