Marlita made paper crane mobiles for her teachers on teachers day. She spent 50% of the money in her savings on coloured papers and 20% of the remainder on coloured thread. She then had $8 left. How much money did she spend on the materials?

Answer 1

Let \( x \) be the total amount of money Marlita had in her savings.

1. Marlita spent 50% of her money on colored papers: \[ \text{Amount spent on colored papers} = 0.5x \] After this purchase, the remaining money is: \[ \text{Remaining money} = x - 0.5x = 0.5x \]

2. Next, Marlita spent 20% of the remaining money on colored thread: \[ \text{Amount spent on colored thread} = 0.2 \cdot 0.5x = 0.1x \] After this purchase, the remaining money is: \[ \text{Remaining money} = 0.5x - 0.1x = 0.4x \]

3. We know that this remaining money is $8: \[ 0.4x = 8 \]

4. We can solve for \( x \): \[ x = \frac{8}{0.4} = 20 \]

Thus, Marlita initially had $20. Now we can calculate how much she spent on materials:

• Amount spent on colored papers: \[ 0.5x = 0.5 \times 20 = 10 \]

• Amount spent on colored thread: \[ 0.1x = 0.1 \times 20 = 2 \]

5. Total amount spent on materials: \[ \text{Total spent} = \text{Amount spent on papers} + \text{Amount spent on thread} = 10 + 2 = 12 \]

Therefore, Marlita spent a total of \(\boxed{12}\) dollars on materials.