Victoria, Julie and Cathy had 1350 erasers. Julie won some of the erasers from Victoria and as a result, Julie's erasers increased by 20%. Cathy then won some erasers from Julie and Cathy's erasers increased by 80%. Finally, Cathy lost some of her erasers to Victoria and Victoria's erasers increased by 25%. In the end, they realised that they each had an equal number of erasers. How many percent less did Victoria have in the end than what she had at first? Correct your answer to 1 decimal place.

Victoria	Julie	Cathy
1350
	5 u
- 1 u	+ 1 u
	6 u
		5 p
	- 4 p	+ 4 p
		9 p
4 boxes
+ 1 box		- 1 box
5 boxes
1 group	1 group	1 group

20% = ²⁰₁₀₀ = ¹₅
80% = ⁸⁰₁₀₀ = ⁴₅
25% = ²⁵₁₀₀ = ¹₄

Working backwards.

3 groups = 1350

1 group = 1350 ÷ 3 = 450

1 group = 5 boxes
5 boxes = 450

1 box = 450 ÷ 5 = 90

1 group + 1 box = 9 p
450 + 90 = 9 p
9 p = 540

1 p = 540 ÷ 9 = 60

4 p = 4 x 60 = 240

1 group + 4 p = 6 u
450 + 240 = 6 u
6 u = 690

1 u = 690 ÷ 6 = 115

Number of erasers that Victoria had at first
= 4 boxes + 1 u
= (4 x 90) + 115
= 360 + 115
= 475

Percent that Victoria had less in the end than at first
= ^{475 - 450}₄₇₅ x 100%
≈ 5.3%

Answer(s): 5.3%