Cierra has thee more than half as many purses as Aisha. Define a variable and write an expression to represent the number of purses in Cierra collection. Then find the number of purses in Cierras collection if Aisha has 12 purses

Cierra has 9 purses in her collection if Aisha has 12 purses.

Let x be the number of Aisha's purses

Aisha = x * number of bags

Cierra = (1/2 * x) + 3 * three more than half of Aisha's purses

if: Aisha has 12 purses; x = 12.

Substitute x by its value.

(1/2 * 12) + 3 = 6 + 3 = 9 purses.