Helen spent $18 on a coat. She spent ²₇ of her remaining money on a skirt and a jacket, after which half her money was left.

1. What fraction of her money did she spend on the coat?
2. The cost of the jacket is ¹₅ the cost of the skirt. How much more does the skirt cost than the jacket?

Coat	Remaining amount
	Skirt	Jacket	Left
$18	2		5
1x5			1x5
3 u	2 u		5 u

(a)
The amount of money left is repeated. Make the numerators the same LCM of 1 and 5 is 5. 

1x52x5 of total money = 57 of remaining amount
510 of total money = 57 of remaining amount

Fraction of her money that she spent on the coat
= ^Coat_Total 
= ³₁₀ 

(b)
Cost of the coat = 3 u

3 u = 18

1 u = 18 ÷ 3 = 6

Cost of the skirt and the jacket
= 2 u
= 2 x 6
= $12

Cost of the jacket = 1 p
Cost of the skirt = 5 p

Total cost of the jacket and the skirt 
= 1 p + 5 p
= 6 p

6 p = 12

1 p = 12 ÷ 6 = 2

Amount that the skirt was more than the jacket
= 5 p - 1 p
= 4 p
= 4 x 2
= $8

Answer(s): (a) ³₁₀; (b) $8