The owner of a local jewelry store hired two watchmen to guard his diamonds, but a thief still got in and stole some diamonds. On the way out, the thief met each watchman, one at a time. To each he gave 1/2 of the diamonds he had then, and 2 more besides. He escaped with two diamonds. How many did he steal originally? Select
A) 20
B) 36
C) 25
D) None of these
E) Cannot be determined
Explanation :   Since, thief escaped with 2 diamonds,   Before 2nd watchman, he had ( 2 + 2 ) x 2 = 8 diamonds.   Before 1st watchman, he had ( 8 + 2 ) x 2 = 20 diamonds.   20nswer : 20
<result>A</result>
The owner of a local jewelry store hired two watchmen to guard his diamonds, but a thief still got in and stole some diamonds. On the way out, the thief met each watchman, one at a time. To each he gave 1/2 of the diamonds he had then, and 2 more besides. He escaped with two diamonds. How many did he steal originally?