Gwen, Hilda and Ivory bought a gift for their nephew. They shared the cost equally between them. Gwen used ²₃ of her savings, Hilda used ⁵₉ of her savings and Ivory used ³₅ of her savings. Gwen and Ivory had $280 left. How much did each girl pay for the gift?
The amount spent by each girl is the same.  Make the numerators the same.
LCM of 2, 5 and 3 = 30

2x153x15 of Gwen's savings = 5x69x6 of Hilda's savings = 3x105x10 of Ivory savings
3045 of Gwen's savings = 3054 of Hilda's savings = 3050 of Ivory's savings

	Gwen	Hilda	Ivory
Before	45 u	54 u	50 u
Change	- 30 u	- 30 u	- 30 u
After	15 u	24 u	20 u

Savings that Gwen had left
= 45 u - 30 u
= 15 u

Savings that Ivory had left
= 50 u - 30 u
= 20 u

Total savings that Gwen and Ivory had left
= 15 u + 20 u
= 35 u

35 u = 280

1 u = 280 ÷ 35 = 8

Amount that each girl paid
= 30 u
= 30 x 8
= $240

Answer(s): $240