Answer:
Explanation:
Let's use the variable "J" to represent Jolene's initial amount of money.
According to the problem, Megan had $5496 more than Jolene at first, so Megan's initial amount of money can be represented as J + $5496.
After their mother gave Jolene another $264, Jolene's new amount of money is J + $264.
After their mother gave Megan $856, Megan's new amount of money is J + $5496 + $856, which simplifies to J + $6352.
The problem also tells us that Megan has 3 times as much money as Jolene in the end, so we can write the equation:
J + $6352 = 3(J + $264)
Simplifying this equation, we get:
J + $6352 = 3J + $792
Subtracting J from both sides, we get:
$6352 = 2J + $792
Subtracting $792 from both sides, we get:
$5560 = 2J
Dividing both sides by 2, we get:
J = $2780
So Jolene had $2780 at first.
To find out how much Megan had at first, we can substitute J = $2780 into the equation we used earlier:
Megan's initial amount of money = J + $5496
Megan's initial amount of money = $2780 + $5496
Megan's initial amount of money = $8276
Therefore, Megan had $8276 at first.