Jade, Esther and Zara had 1008 pens. Esther won some of the pens from Jade and as a result, Esther's pens increased by 50%. Zara then won some pens from Esther and Zara's pens increased by 75%. Finally, Zara lost some of her pens to Jade and Jade's pens increased by 20%. In the end, they realised that they each had an equal number of pens. How many percent less did Jade have in the end than what she had at first? Correct your answer to 1 decimal place.

Jade	Esther	Zara
1008
	2 u
- 1 u	+ 1 u
	3 u
		4 p
	- 3 p	+ 3 p
		7 p
5 boxes
+ 1 box		- 1 box
6 boxes
1 group	1 group	1 group

50% = ⁵⁰₁₀₀ = ¹₂
75% = ⁷⁵₁₀₀ = ³₄
20% = ²⁰₁₀₀ = ¹₅

Working backwards.

3 groups = 1008

1 group = 1008 ÷ 3 = 336

1 group = 6 boxes
6 boxes = 336

1 box = 336 ÷ 6 = 56

1 group + 1 box = 7 p
336 + 56 = 7 p
7 p = 392

1 p = 392 ÷ 7 = 56

3 p = 3 x 56 = 168

1 group + 3 p = 3 u
336 + 168 = 3 u
3 u = 504

1 u = 504 ÷ 3 = 168

Number of pens that Jade had at first
= 5 boxes + 1 u
= (5 x 56) + 168
= 280 + 168
= 448

Percent that Jade had less in the end than at first
= ^{448 - 336}₄₄₈ x 100%
≈ 25.0%

Answer(s): 25.0%