Will and Tom had 55 croissants altogether. After Will ate ¹₃ of his croissants and Tom ate 3 croissants, the number of croissants Tom had left was five times the number of croissants Will had left. How many more croissants did Tom have than Will at first?

	Will	Tom	Total
Before	3 u	10 u + 3	55
Change	- 1 u	- 3
After	2 u
Comparing Will and Tom in the end	1x2 = 2 u	5x2 = 10 u

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

Total number of croissants at first
= 3 u + 10 u + 3
= 13 u + 3

13 u + 3 = 55
13 u = 55 - 3
13 u = 52 

1 u = 52 ÷ 13 = 4

Number of croissants that Will had at first
= 3 u
= 3 x 4
= 12

Number of croissants that Tom had at first
= 55 - 12
= 43

Number of croissants that Tom had more than Will at first
= 43 - 12
= 31

Answer(s): 31