Elijah had some stamps. He gave ⁵₆ of his stamps to Simon and bought 4 new stamps. After that, he gave ³₈ of his remaining stamps to his brother and bought another 7 new stamps. In the end, Elijah had 22 stamps.

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

(a)
Fraction of  his remaining stamps after he gave to his brother
= 1 - ³₈
= ⁵₈

⁵₈ of his remaining stamps = 22 - 7 = 15
¹₈ of his remaining stamps = 15 ÷ 5 = 3
³₈ of his remaining stamps = 3 x 3 = 9

Number of stamps that Elijah gave to his brother = 9

(b)
⁸₈ of his remaining stamps = 8 x 3 = 24

Fraction of his total stamps after he gave to Simon
= 1 - ⁵₆
= ¹₆

¹₆ of his total stamps = 24 - 4 = 20
⁶₆ of his total stamps = 6 x 20 = 120

Number of stamps that Elijah had at first = 120 

Answer(s): (a) 9; (b) 120