Aisha had a roll of ribbon. She used 25 of the ribbon to wrap gifts and 90 cm of the ribbon to tie bows. After that, she had 60 cm of ribbon left. How much ribbon did she have at first?
- 150 cm
- 250 cm
- 350 cm
- 400 cm
Need a hint?
After the 25 is used, what fraction is left? Which amounts make up that fraction?
Worked answer
- Ribbon used for gifts is 25 of the roll, so ribbon not used for gifts is 35 of the roll.
- The 35 part is the 90 cm used for bows plus the 60 cm left: 90 + 60 = 150 cm.
- So 35 of the roll = 150 cm.
- 15 of the roll = 150 ÷ 3 = 50 cm.
- The whole roll = 5 × 50 = 250 cm.
Answer: 250 cm
The mistake this question tests
Habit
Fraction of a remainder
Adding only 90 cm and 60 cm gives 150 cm, but that ignores the 25 of the roll that was used for gifts, so the total is wrong.
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