Cindy, Jaslyn and Jade had 1404 buttons. Jaslyn won some of the buttons from Cindy and as a result, Jaslyn's buttons increased by 50%. Jade then won some buttons from Jaslyn and Jade's buttons increased by 40%. Finally, Jade lost some of her buttons to Cindy and Cindy's buttons increased by 20%. In the end, they realised that they each had an equal number of buttons. How many percent less did Cindy have in the end than what she had at first? Correct your answer to 1 decimal place.

Cindy	Jaslyn	Jade
1404
	2 u
- 1 u	+ 1 u
	3 u
		5 p
	- 2 p	+ 2 p
		7 p
5 boxes
+ 1 box		- 1 box
6 boxes
1 group	1 group	1 group

50% = ⁵⁰₁₀₀ = ¹₂
40% = ⁴⁰₁₀₀ = ²₅
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 = 7 p
468 + 78 = 7 p
7 p = 546

1 p = 546 ÷ 7 = 78

2 p = 2 x 78 = 156

1 group + 2 p = 3 u
468 + 156 = 3 u
3 u = 624

1 u = 624 ÷ 3 = 208

Number of buttons that Cindy had at first
= 5 boxes + 1 u
= (5 x 78) + 208
= 390 + 208
= 598

Percent that Cindy had less in the end than at first
= ^{598 - 468}₅₉₈ x 100%
≈ 21.7%

Answer(s): 21.7%