Anonymous
Anonymous asked in Science & MathematicsMathematics · 8 years ago

# Algebra question!!!!!!!!?

John give 2/3 of his pencils, P, to Roy and then gives 1/4 of the pencils t he has left to Maria. In terms of P, how many pencils does john now have = ___ a. 1/6 b. 1/3 c. 1/4

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• 8 years ago

Hi Katelyn,

The important thing to note in this problem is that there is a sequence of transactions that are occurring, so that when a fraction is given for the amount remaining, the fact that they ask it after a proceeding transaction is completed is important. Here what I mean. Here are the transactions in the problem:

(1) John starts with P pencils;

(2) John gives 2/3 of his pencils to Roy;

(3) John gives 1/4 of his remaining pencils to Maria.

(4) John now has ? pencils remaining.

So in (1) he has P; then he has gives 2/3 of that away, which means he has (1/3) P remaining after (2). He then gives 1/4 of that amount away, meaning that he has 3/4 of the amount he had after step (2) at the end of step (3). That is, he has (3/4)*(1/3)P = (1/4)P. Thus in step (4) he has (1/4)P.

To check, say John has 12 pencils. Then:

(1) John starts with 12 pencils;

(2) John gives 2/3 of his pencils to Roy, that is 8 pencils to Roy. John now has 4 pencils left.

(3) John gives 1/4 of his remaining pencils to Maria, or 1 pencil to Maria. He therefore has 3 pencils left.

(4) John now has 3 pencils remaining, which is 1/4 the original amount of 12 pencils. And our answer is confirmed for the case of P = 12 pencils.

As always, if you need more help, please clarify where you are in the process and what's giving you trouble. I'd be more than happy to continue to assist.