Linda, Gwen and Jaslyn had 1440 erasers. Gwen won some of the erasers from Linda and as a result, Gwen's erasers increased by 20%. Jaslyn then won some erasers from Gwen and Jaslyn's erasers increased by 60%. Finally, Jaslyn lost some of her erasers to Linda and Linda's erasers increased by 25%. In the end, they realised that they each had an equal number of erasers. How many percent less did Linda have in the end than what she had at first? Correct your answer to 1 decimal place.

Linda	Gwen	Jaslyn
1440
	5 u
- 1 u	+ 1 u
	6 u
		5 p
	- 3 p	+ 3 p
		8 p
4 boxes
+ 1 box		- 1 box
5 boxes
1 group	1 group	1 group

20% = ²⁰₁₀₀ = ¹₅
60% = ⁶⁰₁₀₀ = ³₅
25% = ²⁵₁₀₀ = ¹₄

Working backwards.

3 groups = 1440

1 group = 1440 ÷ 3 = 480

1 group = 5 boxes
5 boxes = 480

1 box = 480 ÷ 5 = 96

1 group + 1 box = 8 p
480 + 96 = 8 p
8 p = 576

1 p = 576 ÷ 8 = 72

3 p = 3 x 72 = 216

1 group + 3 p = 6 u
480 + 216 = 6 u
6 u = 696

1 u = 696 ÷ 6 = 116

Number of erasers that Linda had at first
= 4 boxes + 1 u
= (4 x 96) + 116
= 384 + 116
= 500

Percent that Linda had less in the end than at first
= ^{500 - 480}₅₀₀ x 100%
≈ 4.0%

Answer(s): 4.0%