157k views
2 votes
Leah entered an essay writing competition and won a cash prize to use towards her college expenses. She used a third of the money to buy a meal plan, a fourth of the money to buy textbooks, and a sixth of the money to buy a parking permit. She put the remaining $250 towards buying a new computer. How much money did Leah win from the competition?

User Vvvvv
by
7.4k points

1 Answer

1 vote

To find out how much money Leah won from the competition, we can work backwards from the information given.

We know that Leah put $250 towards buying a new computer, which was the remaining amount after she spent a third, a fourth, and a sixth of the money on different items.

Let's break it down step-by-step:

1. Leah used a third of the money to buy a meal plan. This means she spent 1/3 of the money on the meal plan.

2. Leah used a fourth of the money to buy textbooks. This means she spent 1/4 of the money on textbooks.

3. Leah used a sixth of the money to buy a parking permit. This means she spent 1/6 of the money on the parking permit.

Now, let's calculate the total amount Leah spent on the meal plan, textbooks, and parking permit:

1/3 + 1/4 + 1/6

To add fractions, we need to find a common denominator. In this case, the least common denominator is 12.

1/3 can be written as 4/12 (multiply numerator and denominator by 4).

1/4 can be written as 3/12 (multiply numerator and denominator by 3).

1/6 can be written as 2/12 (multiply numerator and denominator by 2).

Adding the fractions together, we get:

4/12 + 3/12 + 2/12 = 9/12

Now, let's subtract the fraction spent from 1 (since 1 represents the total amount of money Leah won) to find the fraction of money Leah has left:

1 - 9/12 = 3/12

So, Leah has 3/12 of the money left after buying the meal plan, textbooks, and parking permit.

We know that Leah put $250 towards buying a new computer, which represents 3/12 of the money she won. So, we can set up the following equation:

(3/12) * x = $250

To solve for x, we can multiply both sides of the equation by the reciprocal of 3/12, which is 12/3:

(3/12) * x * (12/3) = $250 * (12/3)

This simplifies to:

x = $250 * 12/3

x = $1,000

Therefore, Leah won $1,000 from the competition.

User Ariel Allon
by
8.5k points

No related questions found

Welcome to QAmmunity.org, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of our community.

9.4m questions

12.2m answers

Categories