Challenging Problems

Worked Example 1
Rick had 3 times as much money as Fiona. After Rick gave $285 to
Fiona, he had twice as much money as she did. How much money
did Rick have at first?

Before
Rick

Fiona

After
$285 $285
Rick

Fiona
$285

1 $285  3 = $855
3 3  $855 = $2565

Rick had $2565 at first.

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 Answer all questions.

1. There were 3 times as many boys as girls in a museum. After

75 boys left and 25 girls entered, there were 2 times as many
girls as boys. If 90 children remained, how many children were
in the museum at first?

2. The sum of three whole numbers is the same as their product.

What are the numbers?

3. The product of two whole numbers is 10,000. Neither contains a

zero. What are the two numbers?

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 3 M ental Calculation
Worked Example 1

Perform the following mentally.

(a) 348 + 55 – 48
(b) 2072 – 998 – 997
(c) 563 + 456 – 99 – 256

(a) 348 + 55 – 48
= 348 – 48 + 55
= 300 + 55
= 355

(b) 2072 – 998 – 997

= 2072 – 1000 + 2 – 1000 + 3
= 2072 – 2000 + 5
= 72 + 5
= 77

(c) 563 + 456 – 99 – 256

= 463 + 100 – 99 + 456 – 256
= 463 + 1 + 200
= 664

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