Samuel and Jimmy had a total of 1860 stamps. After Samuel gave 275 stamps to Jimmy, Samuel still had 344 more stamps than Jimmy. How many stamps did Jimmy had at first?
Let S be the number of stamps Samuel had.
Let J be the number of stamps Jimmy had.
Then,
S + J = 1860
Also,
(S – 275) = (J+ 275) + 344 (After Samuel gave 275 stamps to Jimmy, ...)
Our two equations then are,
S + J = 1860
(S – 275) = (J+ 275) + 344
Rearranging the above,
S + J = 1860
S – J = 894
Adding together the two eqns gives us,
2S = 2754
S = 1377
J = 483