A train starts full of passengers. At the first station, it drops one-third of the passengers and takes 280 more. At the second station, it drops one-half of the new total and takes 12 more. On arriving at the third station, it is found to have 248 passengers. Find the number of passengers in the beginning. Select.
A) 240  B) 248  C) 280  D) 288  E) 290
Let x be no. of passengers at beginning   At, 1st station is drops 1/3rd so remaining 2/3rd are in train only plus 280 i.e., 2x/3+280   at 2nd stop 1/2 of new total and 12 more i.e., (2x/3+280)/2 + 12 = 248   on solving above equation we get x as 288   ANSWER:288
<result>D</result>
A train starts full of passengers. At the first station, it drops one-third of the passengers and takes 280 more. At the second station, it drops one-half of the new total and takes 12 more. On arriving at the third station, it is found to have 248 passengers. Find the number of passengers in the beginning.