Five sand pails aligned side by side contain a total of 100 seashells. each bucket contains two seashells fewer than the bucket to its left. how many seashells are in each bucket? . a. 24, 22, 20, 18, 16 c. 20, 18, 16, 14, 12 . b. 30, 28, 26, 24, 22 d. 26, 24, 22, 20, 18 .

         Assume that the first bucket contains x seashells, another contains x - 2 and so on.
        x + (x - 2) + (x - 4) + (x - 6) + (x - 8) = 100
        5 x - 20 = 100
        5 x = 100 + 20
        5 x = 120
        x = 120 : 5
        x = 24 ( in the 1st bucket )
        Verify:  24 + 22 + 20 + 18 + 16 = 100
         A ) 24, 22, 20, 18, 16