Question

(3) An estate was to be divided among five people. The first person received 1/8 of the estate. The next two people each received 1/5 of the estate. The fourth person received 1/10 of the estate. What fractional part of the estate did the last person receive?

Answer 1

3/8

Explanation:

An estate has to be divided among the 5 persons.

Given that the 1st person received 1/8 of the estate,

the 2nd person received 1/5 of the estate,

the 3rd person received 1/5 of the estate,

and the 4th person received 1/10 of the estate.

Let the 5th person received the x part of the estate.

The sum of all the fractional parts of one estate equals to 1, so

`\frac 1 8+\frac 1 5+\frac 1 5+\frac 1 {10}+x=1`

`\Rightarrow \frac 5 8 +x =1`

`\Rightarrow x =1-\frac 5 8 =\frac 3 8.`

Hence, the last person received 3/8 of the estate.