Melissa has 1/2 as much money as Paul. Tom has 3/5 as much money as Melissa. If Paul has $42 more than Tom, how much do the three children have altogether?

Answer 1

A little trick avoiding fractions ....

let Melissa's amount be 5x
then Tom has 3x
Paul has 10x

10x - 3x = 42

solve for x, and sub back into my definitions.

Answer 2

Thx!