Owen and Brandon had 30 muffins altogether. After Owen ate ¹₄ of his muffins and Brandon ate 4 muffins, the number of muffins Brandon had left was thrice the number of muffins Owen had left. How many more muffins did Brandon have than Owen at first?

	Owen	Brandon	Total
Before	4 u	9 u + 4	30
Change	- 1 u	- 4
After	3 u
Comparing Owen and Brandon in the end	1x3 = 3 u	3x3 = 9 u

The number of muffins that Owen had in the end is the same. Make the number of muffins that Owen had in the end the same.  LCM of 3 and 1 is 3.

Total number of muffins at first
= 4 u + 9 u + 4
= 13 u + 4

13 u + 4 = 30
13 u = 30 - 4
13 u = 26 

1 u = 26 ÷ 13 = 2

Number of muffins that Owen had at first
= 4 u
= 4 x 2
= 8

Number of muffins that Brandon had at first
= 30 - 8
= 22

Number of muffins that Brandon had more than Owen at first
= 22 - 8
= 14

Answer(s): 14