5th grade math. Two friends went to lunch. When the bill came, one discovered that she had only $8.?

The answer is quite simple if you focus on what was paid, not what was left to be paid.

$8 is 2/5 of the bill so 8 divided by 2 is 4 (therefore each fifth is worth $4). So the other friend paid 3/5 (3 multiplied by $4) which is $12, and the total bill is 5 multiplied by $4 (which is $20).

Hope this makes sense.

Kal

i would say:

2/5 equals $8, so 1/5 equals $4. the other person with more money is paying 3/5 of the bill, which is, $4 x 3 = $12. the total bill will be $8 + $12 = $20.

i really hope this helps because this is the best way that i can explain it.

Okay, the first friend pays 8 dollars, and the second friend pays the rest, which is 3/5 of the bill. Therefore, 8 dollars must be 2/5 of the bill. You can then set up the equation 2x/5 = 8. Solving, we get x=20, so the total bill was twenty.

We now must solve for what the second person paid. 3/5 of 20 is 3(20)/5, which is 12.