Gem, Cindy and Hilda had 1440 stickers. Cindy won some of the stickers from Gem and as a result, Cindy's stickers increased by 25%. Hilda then won some stickers from Cindy and Hilda's stickers increased by 75%. Finally, Hilda lost some of her stickers to Gem and Gem's stickers increased by 20%. In the end, they realised that they each had an equal number of stickers. How many percent less did Gem have in the end than what she had at first? Correct your answer to 1 decimal place.

Gem	Cindy	Hilda
1440
	4 u
- 1 u	+ 1 u
	5 u
		4 p
	- 3 p	+ 3 p
		7 p
5 boxes
+ 1 box		- 1 box
6 boxes
1 group	1 group	1 group

25% = ²⁵₁₀₀ = ¹₄
75% = ⁷⁵₁₀₀ = ³₄
20% = ²⁰₁₀₀ = ¹₅

Working backwards.

3 groups = 1440

1 group = 1440 ÷ 3 = 480

1 group = 6 boxes
6 boxes = 480

1 box = 480 ÷ 6 = 80

1 group + 1 box = 7 p
480 + 80 = 7 p
7 p = 560

1 p = 560 ÷ 7 = 80

3 p = 3 x 80 = 240

1 group + 3 p = 5 u
480 + 240 = 5 u
5 u = 720

1 u = 720 ÷ 5 = 144

Number of stickers that Gem had at first
= 5 boxes + 1 u
= (5 x 80) + 144
= 400 + 144
= 544

Percent that Gem had less in the end than at first
= ^{544 - 480}₅₄₄ x 100%
≈ 11.8%

Answer(s): 11.8%