Julie baked 40 cupcakes. ³₅ of the cupcakes were peach cupcakes. The rest were strawberry cupcakes. She gave an equal number of peach cupcakes and strawberry cupcakes away and had 5 times as many peach cupcakes as strawberry cupcakes left. How many cupcakes did she give away?

	Peach cupcakes	Strawberry cupcakes	Difference
Before	3x4 = 12 u	2x4 = 8 u	1x4 = 4 u
Change	- 7 u	- 7 u
After	5x1 = 5 u	1x1 = 1 u	4x1 = 4 u

Since Julie gave away an equal number of peach cupcakes and strawberry cupcakes, the difference in the number of peach cupcakes and strawberry cupcakes remains unchanged.  Make the difference in the peach cupcakes and strawberry cupcakes the same.  LCM of 1 and 4 is 4.

Total number of cupcakes at first
= 12 u + 8 u
= 20 u

20 u = 40

1 u = 40 ÷ 20 = 2

Number of cupcakes that Julie gave away
= 7 u + 7 u
= 14 u
= 14 x 2 
= 28

Answer(s): 28