Michael and Tom had 74 puffs altogether. After Michael ate ¹₆ of his puffs and Tom ate 10 puffs, the number of puffs Tom had left was twice the number of puffs Michael had left. How many more puffs did Tom have than Michael at first?

	Michael	Tom	Total
Before	6 u	10 u + 10	74
Change	- 1 u	- 10
After	5 u
Comparing Michael and Tom in the end	1x5 = 5 u	2x5 = 10 u

The number of puffs that Michael had in the end is the same. Make the number of puffs that Michael had in the end the same.  LCM of 5 and 1 is 5.

Total number of puffs at first
= 6 u + 10 u + 10
= 16 u + 10

16 u + 10 = 74
16 u = 74 - 10
16 u = 64 

1 u = 64 ÷ 16 = 4

Number of puffs that Michael had at first
= 6 u
= 6 x 4
= 24

Number of puffs that Tom had at first
= 74 - 24
= 50

Number of puffs that Tom had more than Michael at first
= 50 - 24
= 26

Answer(s): 26