Further explanation
Given:
Abbie spent ⁵/₈ of her money and saved the rest.
She spent $45.
Question:
How much money did she have at first?
The Process:
The meaning of "Abbie spent ⁵/₈ of her money" is that she has spent 5 of the 8 parts of the money she had at first.
Let us make a pattern of 8 units for the amount of money that Abbie had at first.
Since Abbie spent ⁵/₈ of her money, then we create a pattern of 5 units containing $9 each. Recall that
From the pattern above, we can see that
Let us calculate how much money Abbie had at first.
Thus, the money Abbie had at first is $72.
The complete pattern of Abbie's initial money is as follows:
- - - - - - - - - -
Quick Steps:
Let M as Abbie's initial money.
Both sides are multiplied by ⁸/₅ so that M is the subject alone on the left side.
We crossed out 5 and 45.
Thus, the money Abbie had at first is $72.