Elyse bought pieces of paper to make 3 lanterns. She used ¹₈ of the pieces of paper on the first lantern. She used 31 more pieces of paper on the second lantern than the first lantern. She used the remaining 185 pieces of paper on the last lantern. How many pieces of papers did she buy?
Number of pieces of paper used to make the first lantern = 1 u
Number of pieces of paper used to make the second lantern = 1 u + 31
Number of pieces of paper used to make the third lantern = 185

Total number of pieces of paper used to make the lanterns = 8 u

8 u = 1 u + 1 u + 31 + 185
8 u - 1 u - 1 u = 31 + 185
6 u = 216

1 u = 216 ÷ 6 = 36

Total number of pieces of paper that Elyse bought
= 8 u
= 8 x 36
= 288

Answer(s): 288