Japheth had some coins. He gave ²₃ of his coins to Cole and bought 4 new coins. After that, he gave ²₅ of his remaining coins to his cousin and bought another 7 new coins. In the end, Japheth had 49 coins.

1. How many coins did Japheth give to his cousin?
2. How many coins did Japheth have at first?

(a)
Fraction of  his remaining coins after he gave to his cousin
= 1 - ²₅
= ³₅

³₅ of his remaining coins = 49 - 7 = 42
¹₅ of his remaining coins = 42 ÷ 3 = 14
²₅ of his remaining coins = 2 x 14 = 28

Number of coins that Japheth gave to his cousin = 28

(b)
⁵₅ of his remaining coins = 5 x 14 = 70

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

¹₃ of his total coins = 70 - 4 = 66
³₃ of his total coins = 3 x 66 = 198

Number of coins that Japheth had at first = 198 

Answer(s): (a) 28; (b) 198