SOLUTION:
Let's say he had x kumquats.
On the first day, he ate one-fourth of them and was left with;
[tex]\frac{3}{4}x[/tex]The next day he ate one-fourth of the remainder, then, he would be left with;
[tex]\frac{3}{4}(\frac{3}{4}x)=\frac{9}{16}x[/tex]The next day he ate one-fourth of the remainder, then, he would be left with;
[tex]\frac{3}{4}(\frac{9}{16}x)=\frac{27x}{64}=27[/tex]Solving for x;
[tex]x=64[/tex]Therefore, Joel was given 64 kumquats in the beginning