SOLUTION: Okay....trying to help my sixth grade daughter here with this equation. If Paula spends 1/3 of her money on a meal then a 1/4 of what was left on gifts then a 1/5 of what was le

Question 861727: Okay....trying to help my sixth grade daughter here with this equation.
If Paula spends 1/3 of her money on a meal then a 1/4 of what was left on gifts then a 1/5 of what was left at the museum. She is left with $32.40. What did she start with.
Kind regards
Answer by josgarithmetic(39617) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Call what she started with, w, for "whole amount she started with". This is a number, but we do not know its value.

Try to form a step-wise process. First part,. Simplify this NOW.
is what she has.

Second part, is what she has when spent the second part. Simplify this now. LCD is 12, seeing denominators as factors being 4 and 3.

Third part, spending one fifth of the current amount at the museum.
, and LCD is 10.

-
Finally, we are told that this amount is $32.40; so we have

How do you undo multiplication by a fraction? Multiply by the reciprocal. Do this to BOTH sides of the equation! What happens to the left-side member? What happens to the right-side member?
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