,

Gretel’s Goldfish

When will Hansel and Gretel have the same number of goldfish?


Hansel has goldfish that quadruple, or become four times as many, every month. Gretel has goldfish that increase by 20 every month. Right now, Hansel has 4 goldfish and Gretel has 128 goldfish. In how many months will they have the same number of goldfish? Show how you arrived at your answer.

(Source: Adapted from Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, Nov-Dec, 1995)