Jeremy had n boxes of paper clips. There were 20 paper clips in each box. He lost 4 paper clips and shared the remaining paper clips with his 3 friends. How many paper clips did each of them receive?
total clips = 20n
he lost 4, so clips remaining = 20n-4
So "he" and the 3 friends make 4 people
each share = (20n-4)/4
= 5n - 1 clips for each person