Julie, Xuan and Shannon had a total of 153 erasers. The ratio of Xuan's erasers to Shannon's erasers was at first 6 : 5. After Julie and Xuan each gave half of their erasers away, the 3 children had 104 erasers left. How many erasers did Julie and Shannon have at first?

	Julie	Xuan	Shannon	Total
Before	2 p	6 u	5 u	153
Change	- 1 p	- 3 u		- 49
After	1 p	3 u	5 u	104

Number of erasers that Julie and Xuan gave away
= 153 - 104
= 49

1 p + 3 u = 49
1 p = 49 - 3 u --- (1)

1 p + 3 u + 5 u = 104 
1 p + 8 u = 104
1 p = 104 - 8 u --- (2)

(1) = (2) 
49 - 3 u = 104 - 8 u 
8 u - 3 u = 104 - 49
5 u = 55

1 u = 55 ÷ 5 = 11

From (1)
1 p = 49 - 3 u
1 p = 49 - 3 x 11

1 p = 49 - 33 = 16

Number of erasers that Julie and Shannon had at first
= 2 p + 5 u
= 2 x 16 + 5 x 11
= 32 + 55
= 87

Answer(s): 87