Mr. P went shopping for his wife's birthday party.
At the first stop, he spent half of his total
amount of money for food.
At the second stop, he spent half of what was
left for paper plates and napkins.
At the next stop, he spent 1/4 of what was left
for table favors.
At the last stop, he spent half of what was left
for a birthday cake and ALL the candles to go on
it.
Mr. P returned with only $6 (after spending all
that money on CANDLES).
How much did he start out
with?
Solution to Problem:
Answer is $64.00.
Let x = total amount of money Mr. P begins with.
He spends x/2 dollars on food, leaving him with
x/2 dollars.
He spends x/4 dollars on paper plates, leaving him
with x/4 dollars.
He spends x/16 dollars on party favors, leaving him
with 3x/16 dollars.
He spends 3x/32 dollars on cake and candles, leaving
him with 3x/32 dollars.
So set 3x/32 = 6 and solve for x.
3x = 192, so x = $64.00.
Correctly solved by:
| 1. Kirstine Wynn | Winchester, VA |
| 2. Eric Harding | Ashburn, VA |
| 3. Tom Marino | Winchester, VA |
| 4. Emily Moll | Winchester, VA |