Friday, December 31, 2010

Decimal P6 2010 Pei Hwa CA1 Q18

7 apples cost $4.00.

9 oranges cost $11.00.
James bought a total of 1000 apples and oranges for $999.00.
How many apples and how many oranges did he buy?


7 A  +  9 O  --> 1000  Use 7 A and 9 O for the number of apples and oranges respectively to avoid handling fractions or decimals

4 A  +  11 O  -->  999

28 A  +  36 O  -->  4 x 1000 = 4000

28 A  +  77 O  -->  7 x 999 = 6993

41 O  -->  6993  -  4000  =  2993

9 O  -->  9/41  x  2993  =  657 oranges

7 A  -->  1000  -  657  =  343 apples


He bought 343 apples and 657 oranges.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Percentage P6

In a primary school, 50 pupils were surveyed on the pets they liked. 80% of the pupils liked dogs, 50% of them liked birds and 34% of them liked rabbits. The survey results were that 1 out of every 5 pupils did not like any of the animals. What is the least number of pupils who liked all 3 types of animals. [Ans : 2]


1/5 x 50 =10 -- did not like pets


100% --> 50

80% --> 80/100 x 50 = 40 -- like dogs

50% --> 50/100 x 50 = 25 -- like birds

34% --> 34/100 x 50 = 17 -- like rabbits

25 + 17 - 40 = 2 pupils   Least overlap between those who like birds and rabbits

The least number of pupils who liked all 3 types of animals is 2.

Whole Number P6

Wilson purchased a certain number of wallets at $6 each. If he had purchased those at $8 each, he would have purchased 20 fewer wallets. How much money did he have? [Ans : $480]


6 : 8 = 3 : 4         Ratio of the number is inversely proportional to the price

1 u --> 20

4 u --> 4 x 20 = 80       Note: 4 u at $6 (3 u at $8) [inverse proportion]

6 x 80 = $480

He had $480. 

Percentage P6

Benny spent 15% of his salary on food and $440 on camera. Then he spent 30% of the remainder on clothes and saved the rest of his salary. He found that the amount he spent on clothes was $120 more than the amount he had spent on food.
(a) How much did he spend on food? Ans: $360
(b) How much did he save? Ans: $1120


30% r --> 15% + $120

70/30 x 15% = 35%

70/30 x 120 = $280

70% r --> 35% + $280

100% - 15% - 15% - 35% = 35%

35% --> 440 + 120 + 280 = $840

15% --> 15/35 x 840 = $360

a) He spent $360 on food.


840 + 280 = $1120

b) He saved $1120.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Percentage P6

If Larry sells his toy at a discount of 20%, he can still make a gain of $150. If he sells it at a 45% discount, he will lose $325. How much did Larry pay for his toy?


80%  -->  1 u  +  $150

55%  -->  1 u  -  $325

80%  -  55%  -->  150  -  (- 325)

25%  -->  150  +  325  =  $475

80%  -->  80/25  x  475  =   $1520

1520 -  150  =  $1370

It was $1370.

Ratio P6

Larry, May and Nora shared the cost of a meal. The ratio of the amount paid by Larry to the total amount paid by May and Nora is 2 : 3 while May’s share was 20% of the total amount paid by Larry and Nora. Given that Nora paid $84 more than May, how much did the meal cost?


L : M + N  =  2  :  3
                  =  12  :  18  [x 6 to get total of same total of 30]

M : L + N  =  20  :  100  
                  =  1  :  5
                  =  5  :  25   [x 5 to get same total of 30]

30 - 12 - 5 = 13

L : M : N = 12  :  5  :  13

13 - 5 = 8

8 u  -->  $84

30 u  -->  30/8  x  84  =  $315

It was $315.

Ratio P6

Ali, Bill and Cindy had a total of 450 apples. The ratio of the number of apples Bill had to the number of apples that Cindy had was 2 : 5. After Ali and Bill had given away ½ of their apples, the children had 300 apples left. How many apples did Bill have at first?


A [  ][  ]                  ]
B [][][][]                 ]  450
C [][][][][][][][][][]  ]

A [  ]                      ]
B [][]                      ]  300
C [][][][][][][][][][]  ]

300 x 2 = 600
10 u --> 600 - 450 = 150

4 u  -->  4/10  x 150  =  60 apples

Bill had  60 apples  at first.