Justin had some erasers. He gave ⁶₇ of his erasers to Xavier and bought 4 new erasers. After that, he gave ³₈ of his remaining erasers to his cousin and bought another 7 new erasers. In the end, Justin had 27 erasers.

1. How many erasers did Justin give to his cousin?
2. How many erasers did Justin have at first?

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

⁵₈ of his remaining erasers = 27 - 7 = 20
¹₈ of his remaining erasers = 20 ÷ 5 = 4
³₈ of his remaining erasers = 3 x 4 = 12

Number of erasers that Justin gave to his cousin = 12

(b)
⁸₈ of his remaining erasers = 8 x 4 = 32

Fraction of his total erasers after he gave to Xavier
= 1 - ⁶₇
= ¹₇

¹₇ of his total erasers = 32 - 4 = 28
⁷₇ of his total erasers = 7 x 28 = 196

Number of erasers that Justin had at first = 196 

Answer(s): (a) 12; (b) 196