Sean had some stamps. He gave ²₃ of his stamps to Sam and bought 4 new stamps. After that, he gave ⁵₉ of his remaining stamps to his sister and bought another 7 new stamps. In the end, Sean had 23 stamps.

1. How many stamps did Sean give to his sister?
2. How many stamps did Sean have at first?

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

⁴₉ of his remaining stamps = 23 - 7 = 16
¹₉ of his remaining stamps = 16 ÷ 4 = 4
⁵₉ of his remaining stamps = 5 x 4 = 20

Number of stamps that Sean gave to his sister = 20

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

Fraction of his total stamps after he gave to Sam
= 1 - ²₃
= ¹₃

¹₃ of his total stamps = 36 - 4 = 32
³₃ of his total stamps = 3 x 32 = 96

Number of stamps that Sean had at first = 96 

Answer(s): (a) 20; (b) 96