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

Shannon	Jaslyn	Jean
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 Shannon had at first
= 5 boxes + 1 u
= (5 x 56) + 168
= 280 + 168
= 448

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

Answer(s): 25.0%