Jack and Fred had 48 macarons altogether. After Jack ate ¹₄ of his macarons and Fred ate 8 macarons, the number of macarons Fred had left was twice the number of macarons Jack had left. How many more macarons did Fred have than Jack at first?

	Jack	Fred	Total
Before	4 u	6 u + 8	48
Change	- 1 u	- 8
After	3 u
Comparing Jack and Fred in the end	1x3 = 3 u	2x3 = 6 u

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

Total number of macarons at first
= 4 u + 6 u + 8
= 10 u + 8

10 u + 8 = 48
10 u = 48 - 8
10 u = 40 

1 u = 40 ÷ 10 = 4

Number of macarons that Jack had at first
= 4 u
= 4 x 4
= 16

Number of macarons that Fred had at first
= 48 - 16
= 32

Number of macarons that Fred had more than Jack at first
= 32 - 16
= 16

Answer(s): 16