Oliver had some coins. He gave ²₃ of his coins to Cole and bought 4 new coins. After that, he gave ²₇ of his remaining coins to his brother and bought another 7 new coins. In the end, Oliver had 47 coins.

1. How many coins did Oliver give to his brother?
2. How many coins did Oliver have at first?

(a)
Fraction of  his remaining coins after he gave to his brother
= 1 - ²₇
= ⁵₇

⁵₇ of his remaining coins = 47 - 7 = 40
¹₇ of his remaining coins = 40 ÷ 5 = 8
²₇ of his remaining coins = 2 x 8 = 16

Number of coins that Oliver gave to his brother = 16

(b)
⁷₇ of his remaining coins = 7 x 8 = 56

Fraction of his total coins after he gave to Cole
= 1 - ²₃
= ¹₃

¹₃ of his total coins = 56 - 4 = 52
³₃ of his total coins = 3 x 52 = 156

Number of coins that Oliver had at first = 156 

Answer(s): (a) 16; (b) 156