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| Math Central | Quandaries & Queries |
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Question from Yasmine, a student: Marcia saved money by working over the summer. Before school started, she spent 25% of the money of jewelry and then 2/3 of the remaining money on a digital camera. She still had $213 left. How much money did she have before she started shopping? My work: ( I tried to work backwards in the problem). 213/(2/3)=319.50 ---> 319.50/(.25)=1275 1275 is not one of the choices in this multiple choice problem, and I became confused. Please help me solve the problem, also explaining to me what I did wrong. Thanks. |
Yasmine,
Marcia spent 25% of her money on jewelry leaving some some unknown amount I am going to call $x. She then spent 2/3 of the $x leaving her with $213. Hence $213 is 1/3 of $x. So
1/3 × $x = $213
and
$x = $213/(1/3) = $639.
Now, how much money did she have before she bought the jewelry?
Penny
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