Brandon had some pens. He gave ²₃ of his pens to Elijah and bought 4 new pens. After that, he gave ⁴₉ of his remaining pens to his brother and bought another 7 new pens. In the end, Brandon had 37 pens.

1. How many pens did Brandon give to his brother?
2. How many pens did Brandon have at first?

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

⁵₉ of his remaining pens = 37 - 7 = 30
¹₉ of his remaining pens = 30 ÷ 5 = 6
⁴₉ of his remaining pens = 4 x 6 = 24

Number of pens that Brandon gave to his brother = 24

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

Fraction of his total pens after he gave to Elijah
= 1 - ²₃
= ¹₃

¹₃ of his total pens = 54 - 4 = 50
³₃ of his total pens = 3 x 50 = 150

Number of pens that Brandon had at first = 150 

Answer(s): (a) 24; (b) 150