Sean and Jeremy had 33 muffins altogether. After Sean ate ¹₄ of his muffins and Jeremy ate 7 muffins, the number of muffins Jeremy had left was thrice the number of muffins Sean had left. How many more muffins did Jeremy have than Sean at first?

	Sean	Jeremy	Total
Before	4 u	9 u + 7	33
Change	- 1 u	- 7
After	3 u
Comparing Sean and Jeremy in the end	1x3 = 3 u	3x3 = 9 u

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

Total number of muffins at first
= 4 u + 9 u + 7
= 13 u + 7

13 u + 7 = 33
13 u = 33 - 7
13 u = 26 

1 u = 26 ÷ 13 = 2

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

Number of muffins that Jeremy had at first
= 33 - 8
= 25

Number of muffins that Jeremy had more than Sean at first
= 25 - 8
= 17

Answer(s): 17