PSLE
Emily and Sean bought towels at the prices shown below.

3 Large towels for $16
5 Small towels for $12

1. Emily bought an equal number of large and small towels. She spent $132 more on the large ones. How many towels did she buy altogether?
2. Sean spent an equal amount of money on the large and small towels. What fraction of the towels he bought were small?

(a)
Number of large and small towels that Emily bought is the same. Make the number of large and small towels the same. LCM of 3 and 5 is 15.

Cost of 3 large towels = $16
Cost of 15 large towels = 5 x 16 = $80

Cost of 5 small towels = $12
Cost of 15 small towels = 3 x 12 = $36

Difference in the cost of buying 15 small towels and 15 large towels
= 80 - 36
= $44

Number of sets of towels
= 132 ÷ 44
= 3

Number of towels that Emily bought
= 3 x 2 x 15
= 90

(b)
Sean spent an equal amount of money on the large and small towels. Make the amount of money spent on the large and small towels the same.
LCM of 16 and 12 is 48.

Number of large towels that Sean bought
= 3 x (48 ÷ 16)
= 3 x 3
= 9

Number of the small towels that Sean bought
= 5 x (48 ÷ 12)
= 5 x 4
= 20

Fraction of the towels that Sean bought that were small
= ²⁰_{9 + 20}
= ²⁰₂₉

Answer(s): (a) 90; (b) ²⁰₂₉