Catholic High School P5 CA1 2004 Math Question

Mr Tan had thrice as many apples as pears at his stall at first. After he sold 129 apples and threw away 8 rotten pears, he had only half as many apples as pears left. How many pears did he have left?


Before -



After – Threw 8 pears, sold 129 apples, left with half as many apples as pears.




Apples sold

5 units + 8 + 8 + 8 ----- 129

5 units + 24 ----- 129

5 units ----- 129 –24

5 units ----- 105

1 unit ----- 105 divided by 5 = 21


Pears left

2 units ----- 21 x 2 = 42


Answer: He had 24 pears left.