Zoe and Risa had a total of 60 stamps. Risa gave ¹₄ of her stamps to Zoe. In return, Zoe gave ¹₆ of the total number of stamps that she had to Risa. In the end, each girl had the same number of stamps. How many stamps did Zoe have at first?

	Zoe	Risa	Total
Before 1	?	4 u	60
Change 1	+ 1 u	- 1 u
After 1	36	3 u	60
Before 2	6 p	3 u	60
Change 2	- 1 p	+ 1 p
After 2	5 p (30)	30	60

Since Risa gave some stamps to Zoe and Zoe then gave some stamps to Risa, it is an internal transfer of stamps between the two girls. So, the total number of stamps remains unchanged.

Number of stamps that Risa and Zoe each had in the end is the same.

Number of stamps that Zoe had in the end
= 60 ÷ 2
= 30

Number of stamps that Zoe had in the end = 5 p

5 p = 30

1 p = 30 ÷ 5 = 6

Number of stamps that Zoe had after receiving some stamps from Risa
= 6 p
= 6 x 6
= 36

Number of stamps that Risa had after giving to Zoe
= 60 - 36
= 24

3 u = 24

1 u = 24 ÷ 3 = 8

Number of stamps that Risa had at first
= 4 u
= 4 x 8
= 32

Number of stamps that Zoe had at first
= 60 - 32
= 28

Answer(s): 28