Let's call these friends by their first initial:
K = Kiana, G = Gary, M = Monty, W = Willa
Now we can convert the question to a system of linear equations:
Gary has 3 cards more than Kiana, so G = K + 3
Monty has 7 cards more than Kiana, so M = K + 7
Willa has twice as many cards as Monty, so W = 2M = 2(K + 7) = 2K + 14
74 cards given out = all the friends combined, so
74
= K + G + M + W
= K + (K + 3) + (K + 7) + (2K + 14)
= 5K + 3 + 7 + 14
= 5K + 24
50 = 5K
10 = K, so Kiana had 10 cards
G = K + 3 = 13, so Gary had 13 cards
M = K + 7 = 17, so Monty had 17 cards
W = 2M = 34, so Willa had 34 cards
Checking our work, 10 + 13 + 17 + 34 = 74 cards total.
