Twenty travelers set out on three boats. Two boats had the same number of people

Twenty travelers set out on three boats. Two boats had the same number of people, and a third had one less person. How many people are in each boat?

1) Let there be x people in the first and second boats, then (x – 1) people were in the third boat.
2) (x + x + (x – 1)) the person was in three boats.
3) According to the condition of the problem, a total of 20 people went to travel, we write the equality:
x + x + (x – 1) = 20.
4) Let’s solve the equation:
x + x + x – 1 = 20;
3x – 1 = 20;
3x = 20 + 1;
3x = 21;
x = 21: 3;
x = 7.
5) Solving the equation. we determine that there were 7 people in the first and second boats.
6) Find out how many people were in the third boat:
7 – 1 = 6 people.
Answer: 7 people, 7 people and 6 people.