Joelle had some fruits at her stall. ³₈ of them were lemons, ¹₄ of the remainder were mandarin oranges and the rest were pears. The amounts earned for each lemon, each mandarin orange and each pear sold are $1.40, $1.90 and $1.50 respectively. The number of lemons sold to the number of mandarin oranges sold to the number of pears sold was 2 : 4 : 5. In total, she sold ¹₁₆ of the fruits and earned $107.40. How many pears did she have at first?

Lemons	Mandarin Oranges	Pears	Total
3x4	5x4		8x4
	1x5	3x5
12 p	5 p	15 p	32 p

The total number of mandarin oranges and pears is repeated.  Make the total number of mandarin oranges and pears the same. LCM of 5 and 4 is 20.

	Lemons	Mandarin Oranges	Pears
Number	2 u	4 u	5 u
Value	$1.40	$1.90	$1.50
Total value	2.8 u	7.6 u	7.5 u

Total amount that Joelle earned
= 2.8 u + 7.6 u + 7.5 u
= 17.9 u

17.9 u = 107.40
 
1 u = 107.40 ÷ 17.9 = 6

Total number of fruits sold
= 2 u + 4 u + 5 u
= 11 u
= 11 x 6
= 66

Total number of fruits at first
= 66 ÷ ¹₁₆
= 66 x 16
= 1056

Total number of fruits at first
= 12 p + 5 p + 15 p
= 32 p

32 p = 1056

1 p = 1056 ÷ 32 = 33

Number of pears that Joelle had at first
= 15 p
= 15 x 33
= 495

Answer(s): 495