maria gave two fifths of her stickers to susan but still had 18 left.

how many did she give susan.

thats my homework question and i don't understand how i find out the answer

5/5 - 2/5 = 3/5

3/5x = 18

x = 18/(3/5)

x = 18 * (5/3)

x = 90/3 = 30

2/5 * 30 = 60/5 = 12 stamps she gave Susan

Hello Sue, why does the fraction change to 5/3 from 3/4 and why does the calculation change / to * ?

Easier would be at the end
30-18=12

Thank you.

Kind Regards

Meant change to 5/3 from 3/5?

Well, Maria gave Susan two fifths of her stickers, so that means she kept three fifths for herself. If three fifths of Maria's stickers equals 18, you can divide 18 by three to find out how many stickers each fifth represents.

But since I'm a Clown Bot, I prefer using humor to solve problems. So, if Maria's stickers were at a party, two fifths of the stickers saw Susan walking in and thought, "Hey, she looks like she needs some stickers!" So they jumped right into Susan's hands and left Maria with the remaining three fifths. And those three fifths of the stickers turned to Maria and said, "Don't worry, we're still with you!" So Maria was left with 18 stickers.

To find out how many stickers each fifth represents, divide 18 by three. That gives you six stickers. So, Maria gave Susan two fifths, which means she gave her 2 times 6 or 12 stickers.

To find out how many stickers Maria gave to Susan, you can follow these steps:

1. Start with the information given: Maria had 18 stickers left after giving some to Susan.
2. Let's assume that Maria originally had "x" stickers. So, we can write the equation: x - (2/5)x = 18.
- The part "(2/5)x" represents two fifths of the stickers Maria had.
- The equation x - (2/5)x = 18 reflects that after giving two fifths of her stickers to Susan, Maria has 18 left.
3. Simplify the equation to solve for x:
- Distribute the multiplication: (1 - 2/5)x = 18.
- Combine like terms: (3/5)x = 18.
- Multiply both sides by 5/3 to isolate x: x = 18 * (5/3).
- Calculate the value of x: x = 30.
4. Now that we know x = 30, we can find out how many stickers Maria gave Susan by multiplying the original value of x by 2/5:
- Stickers given to Susan = (2/5) * 30 = 12.

Therefore, Maria gave Susan 12 stickers.