Oscar had some stamps. He gave ³₄ of his stamps to Cody and bought 4 new stamps. After that, he gave ⁴₉ of his remaining stamps to his brother and bought another 7 new stamps. In the end, Oscar had 27 stamps.

1. How many stamps did Oscar give to his brother?
2. How many stamps did Oscar have at first?

(a)
Fraction of  his remaining stamps after he gave to his brother
= 1 - ⁴₉
= ⁵₉

⁵₉ of his remaining stamps = 27 - 7 = 20
¹₉ of his remaining stamps = 20 ÷ 5 = 4
⁴₉ of his remaining stamps = 4 x 4 = 16

Number of stamps that Oscar gave to his brother = 16

(b)
⁹₉ of his remaining stamps = 9 x 4 = 36

Fraction of his total stamps after he gave to Cody
= 1 - ³₄
= ¹₄

¹₄ of his total stamps = 36 - 4 = 32
⁴₄ of his total stamps = 4 x 32 = 128

Number of stamps that Oscar had at first = 128 

Answer(s): (a) 16; (b) 128