A precious stone was accidentally dropped and broke into 3 stones of equal weight. The value of this type of stone is always proportional to the square of its weight. The 3 broken stones together are worth how much of the value of the original stone?
[spoiler]1/3[/spoiler]
Just pick easy numbers
First stone weighs 9 pounds. We're going to use dollars for the amount to make it easy too
9^2 = $81
Now divide the original weight for each individual stone
9/3=3
3^2= $9
So the original was worth $81
The new stones are each worth $9
Now add the value of the 3 stones (9*3=27...)
So the new total value as a percentage of the original is is 27/81 or 1/3
