Question

Susan's penny bank is 1/4 full. After she adds 360 pennies, it is 5/8 full. How many pennies can Susan's bank hold?

Answer 1

576 is the answer, I think!!!  Is it multiple choice?

Answer 2

Since 360 pennies are added to Susan's penny bank and it ends up as being 5/8 full, we need to find out how many pennies is equivalent to 8/8 (1, or full).

We already know that 360 equals 5/8 of Susan's penny bank, so divide 360 by 8.

360 / 8 = 45

Then, multiply 45 by 3 in order to find how many pennies is equivalent to 3/8 of the penny bank.

45 x 3 = 135

After that, add 360 to 135, which is theoretically the same as 5/8 + 3/8.

360 + 135 = 495

5/8 + 3/8 = 8/8 or 1

Therefore, Susan's penny bank can hold 495 pennies in total.






P.S. This may not be your preferred method of solving this problem, but this is certainly one of the ways of understanding them. -AM