Cindy and Tiffany had a total of 98 erasers. Tiffany gave ¹₄ of her erasers to Cindy. In return, Cindy gave ¹₈ of the total number of erasers that she had to Tiffany. In the end, each girl had the same number of erasers. How many erasers did Cindy have at first?

	Cindy	Tiffany	Total
Before 1	?	4 u	98
Change 1	+ 1 u	- 1 u
After 1	56	3 u	98
Before 2	8 p	3 u	98
Change 2	- 1 p	+ 1 p
After 2	7 p (49)	49	98

Since Tiffany gave some erasers to Cindy and Cindy then gave some erasers to Tiffany, it is an internal transfer of erasers between the two girls. So, the total number of erasers remains unchanged.

Number of erasers that Tiffany and Cindy each had in the end is the same.

Number of erasers that Cindy had in the end
= 98 ÷ 2
= 49

Number of erasers that Cindy had in the end = 7 p

7 p = 49

1 p = 49 ÷ 7 = 7

Number of erasers that Cindy had after receiving some erasers from Tiffany
= 8 p
= 8 x 7
= 56

Number of erasers that Tiffany had after giving to Cindy
= 98 - 56
= 42

3 u = 42

1 u = 42 ÷ 3 = 14

Number of erasers that Tiffany had at first
= 4 u
= 4 x 14
= 56

Number of erasers that Cindy had at first
= 98 - 56
= 42

Answer(s): 42