Mrs Tan baked some cookies. She sold 2/5 of them and gave 1/2 of the remainder to her neighbours. She had 36 cookies left. How many cookies did she bake?
Worked answer
- Sold 2 of 5 units, so 3 units are left.
- Half of the remainder went to the neighbours, so 1½ units are left.
- 1½ units = 36, so 1 unit = 24. At first: 5 units = 120.
Answer: 120 cookies
The mistake this question tests
Habit
Fraction of a remainder
You added 2/5 and 1/2 as if both were fractions of all the cookies. The neighbours got half of what was left.
How to fix it at home →Wrong answers children often give:
- 60 Calculation slip
- 360 Fraction of a remainder
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See the answer →Practise PSLE fractions until the mistakes stop.
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