Jose had 4 times as many trading cards as Philippe. After Jose gave away 50 cards to his little brother and Philippe gave 5 cards to his friend for his birthday, they each had an equal number of cards. How many trading cards did Jose have before he started giving them away?

Jose had 60 cards

Phillipe had 15 cards

Step-by-step explanation:

Let the number of trading cards Phillipe had be x. Jose had 4 times, meaning he has 4x of these cards.

Jose gave away 50 cards while Phillipe gave away 5 cards to make their numbers equal.

Mathematically:

4x - 50 = x - 5

3x = 45

x = 45/3 = 15

Phillipe had 15 cards while Jose had 15(4) = 60 cards