Helen spent $20 on a vest. She spent ³₁₁ of her remaining money on a blazer and a blouse, after which half her money was left.

1. What fraction of her money did she spend on the vest?
2. The cost of the blouse is ¹₅ the cost of the blazer. How much more does the blazer cost than the blouse?

Vest	Remaining amount
	Blazer	Blouse	Left
$20	3		8
1x8			1x8
5 u	3 u		8 u

(a)
The amount of money left is repeated. Make the numerators the same LCM of 1 and 8 is 8. 

1x82x8 of total money = 811 of remaining amount
816 of total money = 811 of remaining amount

Fraction of her money that she spent on the vest
= ^Vest_Total 
= ⁵₁₆ 

(b)
Cost of the vest = 5 u

5 u = 20

1 u = 20 ÷ 5 = 4

Cost of the blazer and the blouse
= 3 u
= 3 x 4
= $12

Cost of the blouse = 1 p
Cost of the blazer = 5 p

Total cost of the blouse and the blazer 
= 1 p + 5 p
= 6 p

6 p = 12

1 p = 12 ÷ 6 = 2

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

Answer(s): (a) ⁵₁₆; (b) $8