Name_________________________

Whose Side Are You On?

            At a construction site the same number of carpenters as usual are working on a new house.  They always work on the same side of the house, either the front or the back as they put up the frame. 

One morning Sue decided to work on the back of the house instead of her usual place in the front.  This threw everybody off.  As a result of this change there were now an equal number of carpenters working in the front and the back. 

The next day Sue went back to work on the front of the house. But then Tom, who always worked on the back of the house, decided to work on the front.  The foreman scratched her head because there were now three times as many workers in the front as in the back.

            How many carpenters regularly work in the front and back?  That is, before all of the changes.

Good Luck!!!!!