Question: Carolyn buys a silverware set with 6 knives, 12 forks, and three times as many spoons as knives. Then her friend trades her 10 knives for 6 spoons. What percentage of Carolyn's silverware is knives? Think carefully first, then make a decision:
First find the final number of knives Carolyn has: 10 knives + 6 knives = 16 knives. Then find the initial number of spoons Carolyn has: 6 knives * 3 spoons / knife = 18 spoons. Then find the final number of spoons Carolyn has: 18 spoons - 6 spoons = 12 spoons. Then find the total final amount of silverware Carolyn has: 12 spoons + 16 knives + 12 forks = 40 pieces. Then divide the number of knives by the total number of pieces and multiply by 100% to express the answer as a percentage: 16 knives / 40 pieces * 100% = 40%. So the answer is 40.