Joelle spent ¹₇ of her money on some highlighters. She spent ¹₆ of the remaining money on some punchers and ⁴₅ of what was left on some files.

1. What fraction of her money was spent on files?
2. Given that the highlighters cost $12 less than the files, find the sum of money that Joelle spent.

Highlighters	Remaining money
1	6
	Punchers	Left
	1	5
		Files	Rest
1 u	1 u	4 u	1 u

(a)
Fraction of money left after spending on the highlighters
= 1 - ¹₇
= ⁶₇

Fraction of remaining money after spending on the punchers
= 1 - ¹₆
= ⁵₆

Fraction of what was left after spending on the files
= 1 - ⁴₅
= ¹₅

Fraction of money that was spent on files = ⁴₇

(b)
Amount that Joelle spent on the highlighters = 1 u
Amount that Joelle spent on the files = 4 u

Amount that the highlighters cost less than the files
= 4 u - 1 u
= 3 u

3 u = 12

1 u = 12 ÷ 3 = 4

Amount that Joelle sent
= 1 u + 1 u + 4 u
= 6 u
= 6 x 4
= $24

Answer(s): (a) ⁴₇; (b) $24