Julian had some stamps. He gave ³₄ of his stamps to Lee and bought 4 new stamps. After that, he gave ⁵₉ of his remaining stamps to his cousin and bought another 7 new stamps. In the end, Julian had 31 stamps.

1. How many stamps did Julian give to his cousin?
2. How many stamps did Julian have at first?

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

⁴₉ of his remaining stamps = 31 - 7 = 24
¹₉ of his remaining stamps = 24 ÷ 4 = 6
⁵₉ of his remaining stamps = 5 x 6 = 30

Number of stamps that Julian gave to his cousin = 30

(b)
⁹₉ of his remaining stamps = 9 x 6 = 54

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

¹₄ of his total stamps = 54 - 4 = 50
⁴₄ of his total stamps = 4 x 50 = 200

Number of stamps that Julian had at first = 200 

Answer(s): (a) 30; (b) 200