A group of friends went on a three-day hike. During the second day of the hike, the group hiked twice as far as they did on the first day. On the third day, they hiked twelve miles farther than combined distance of the first two days. In all, they hiked 24 miles. How far did they hike on the first day?

they hiked 2 miles on the first day.

Step-by-step explanation:

Let x represent the distance that the group hiked on the first day.

During the second day of the hike, the group hiked twice as far as they did on the first day. This means that the distance that they hiked on the second day is 2x.

On the third day, they hiked twelve miles farther than combined distance of the first two days. This means that the distance that they hiked on the third day is x + 2x + 12

In all, they hiked 24 miles. This means that

x + 2x + x + 2x + 12 = 24

6x + 12 = 24

6x = 24 - 12 = 12

x = 12/6 = 2 miles