Asher, Bernard and Calvin collected stamps in the ratio of 5:4:8. After Calvin gave 3/10 of his stamps to Asher and Bernard, Asher has 14 stamps more than Calvin and both Bernard and Calvin had the same number of stamps. How many stamps did Calvin give away?
Total stamps = 5x+4x+8x = 17x
did Calvin give 3/10 of his stamps to each of Asher and Bernard? If so, we have
5x + 3/10 * 8x = 14 + 4/10 * 8x ❌ nope, x is not an integer
did Calvin split 3/10 of his stamps between Asher and Bernard? If so, then if Asher got a stamps, then
5x + a = 14 + 7/10 * 8x
4x + (3/10 * 8x - a) = 7/10 * 8x
solve that and you get
x = 70
a = 56
So Calvin started out with 70*8 = 560 stamps, and gave away
3/10 * 560 = 168 ... 56 to Alvin and 112 to Bernard