Jade baked 96 cupcakes. ⁵₈ of the cupcakes were strawberry cupcakes. The rest were cherry cupcakes. She gave an equal number of strawberry cupcakes and cherry cupcakes away and had 2 times as many strawberry cupcakes as cherry cupcakes left. How many cupcakes did she give away?

	Strawberry cupcakes	Cherry cupcakes	Difference
Before	5x1 = 5 u	3x1 = 3 u	2x1 = 2 u
Change	- 1 u	- 1 u
After	2x2 = 4 u	1x2 = 2 u	1x2 = 2 u

Since Jade gave away an equal number of strawberry cupcakes and cherry cupcakes, the difference in the number of strawberry cupcakes and cherry cupcakes remains unchanged.  Make the difference in the strawberry cupcakes and cherry cupcakes the same.  LCM of 2 and 1 is 2.

Total number of cupcakes at first
= 5 u + 3 u
= 8 u

8 u = 96

1 u = 96 ÷ 8 = 12

Number of cupcakes that Jade gave away
= 1 u + 1 u
= 2 u
= 2 x 12 
= 24

Answer(s): 24