Ben and Ryan had 42 shortbreads altogether. After Ben ate ¹₃ of his shortbreads and Ryan ate 7 shortbreads, the number of shortbreads Ryan had left was twice the number of shortbreads Ben had left. How many more shortbreads did Ryan have than Ben at first?

	Ben	Ryan	Total
Before	3 u	4 u + 7	42
Change	- 1 u	- 7
After	2 u
Comparing Ben and Ryan in the end	1x2 = 2 u	2x2 = 4 u

The number of shortbreads that Ben had in the end is the same. Make the number of shortbreads that Ben had in the end the same.  LCM of 2 and 1 is 2.

Total number of shortbreads at first
= 3 u + 4 u + 7
= 7 u + 7

7 u + 7 = 42
7 u = 42 - 7
7 u = 35 

1 u = 35 ÷ 7 = 5

Number of shortbreads that Ben had at first
= 3 u
= 3 x 5
= 15

Number of shortbreads that Ryan had at first
= 42 - 15
= 27

Number of shortbreads that Ryan had more than Ben at first
= 27 - 15
= 12

Answer(s): 12