Brandon had some cards. He gave ⁵₆ of his cards to Charlie and bought 4 new cards. After that, he gave ⁴₉ of his remaining cards to his cousin and bought another 7 new cards. In the end, Brandon had 27 cards.

1. How many cards did Brandon give to his cousin?
2. How many cards did Brandon have at first?

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

⁵₉ of his remaining cards = 27 - 7 = 20
¹₉ of his remaining cards = 20 ÷ 5 = 4
⁴₉ of his remaining cards = 4 x 4 = 16

Number of cards that Brandon gave to his cousin = 16

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

Fraction of his total cards after he gave to Charlie
= 1 - ⁵₆
= ¹₆

¹₆ of his total cards = 36 - 4 = 32
⁶₆ of his total cards = 6 x 32 = 192

Number of cards that Brandon had at first = 192 

Answer(s): (a) 16; (b) 192