Brian had 6 times as much money as Rahim. Brian spent $287 of his money to buy a birthday gift for his grandma while Rahim was awarded $73 for winning a competition. In the end, they had the same amount of money. How much did they have altogether at first?
Brian had 6 times the money Rahim did:
B=6*R
Brian lost 287 dollars, and Rahim gained 73, leaving them at the same amount of money.
B-287=R+73
B= R+360
We can equate these two equations
R+360=6R
360=5R
R=72
If Rahim had $72, then Brian had 6 times this amount
72*6=432
Thus, their combined amount at the start is given by
72+432=504
They had $504 together to start with. Hope this helps!
-C