Jade, Gabby and Anna had 1404 erasers. Gabby won some of the erasers from Jade and as a result, Gabby's erasers increased by 25%. Anna then won some erasers from Gabby and Anna's erasers increased by 50%. Finally, Anna lost some of her erasers to Jade and Jade's erasers increased by 20%. In the end, they realised that they each had an equal number of erasers. How many percent less did Jade have in the end than what she had at first? Correct your answer to 1 decimal place.

Jade	Gabby	Anna
1404
	4 u
- 1 u	+ 1 u
	5 u
		2 p
	- 1 p	+ 1 p
		3 p
5 boxes
+ 1 box		- 1 box
6 boxes
1 group	1 group	1 group

25% = ²⁵₁₀₀ = ¹₄
50% = ⁵⁰₁₀₀ = ¹₂
20% = ²⁰₁₀₀ = ¹₅

Working backwards.

3 groups = 1404

1 group = 1404 ÷ 3 = 468

1 group = 6 boxes
6 boxes = 468

1 box = 468 ÷ 6 = 78

1 group + 1 box = 3 p
468 + 78 = 3 p
3 p = 546

1 p = 546 ÷ 3 = 182

1 p = 1 x 182 = 182

1 group + 1 p = 5 u
468 + 182 = 5 u
5 u = 650

1 u = 650 ÷ 5 = 130

Number of erasers that Jade had at first
= 5 boxes + 1 u
= (5 x 78) + 130
= 390 + 130
= 520

Percent that Jade had less in the end than at first
= ^{520 - 468}₅₂₀ x 100%
≈ 10.0%

Answer(s): 10.0%