Mrs Loh gave Victoria and Penelope some money each on Wednesday. On Thursday, Victoria gave ¹₅ of the amount she had to Penelope. On Friday, Penelope gave ¹₄ of the amount she had to Victoria. In the end, Victoria had $54 and Penelope had $18. How much did Penelope had more than Victoria at first?

	Victoria	Penelope	Total
Before 1	5 u	?	$72
Change 1	- 1 u	+ 1 u
After 1	4 u	4 p	$72
Before 2	$54 - 1 p	4 p	$72
Change 2	+ 1 p	- 1 p
After 2	$54	3 p ($18)	$72

Amount that Penelope had in the end = 3 p

3 p = 18

1 p = 18 ÷ 3 = 6

Working backwards.

Amount that Victoria had after giving to Penelope on Thursday
= 54 - 1 p
= 54 - 6
= $48

4 u = 48

1 u = 48 ÷ 4 = 12

Amount that Victoria had at first
= 5 u
= 5 x 12
= $60

Total amount that Victoria and Penelope had 
= 54 + 18
= $72

Amount that Penelope had at first
= 72 - 60
= $12

Amount that Victoria had more than Penelope
= 60 - 12 
= $48

Answer(s): $48