How many shirts did they have at first?

Question

A store has some shirts on a rack. By 12:00, half of them were gone. Then another forth of that was gone by 3:00. Now there are 12 shirts left. How many shirts were there at first?

Answer 1

Cathy, we know that the whole is the sum of its parts. By 3:00, we have 1/4 of 1/2 gone. "Of" means to multiply. (1/4)(1/2) = 1/8. If 1/2 were sold by 12:00 and another 1/8 were sold by 3:00, then 1/2 + 1/8 = 4/8 + 1/8 = 5/8 were sold by 3:00.

 

If 5/8 were sold, then 3/8 are left. Draw 8 boxes. If 3 of them equal 12, then wach box must equal 4, and all 8 equal 32 shirts to start with.

 

Hope this helps!