Question

Copland completes in 27 swimming events this season. He wins either first place or second place in each event. Copland has 3 more first place wins than second place wins. In how many events did he wins first place, and in how many did he win second place.

Answer 1

Answer:

First Place wins in 15 events

Second Place wins in 12 events

Step-by-step explanation:

Let

the number of events winning first place be "f"

the number of events winning second place be "s"

Total 27 swimming events, we can write:

$f+s=27$

First place wins is THREE MORE than 2nd place wins, so we can write:

$f=s+3$

Replacing 2nd equation in 1st equation, we can solve for "s":

$f+s=27\\(s+3)+s=27\\2s+3=27\\2s=24\\s=12$

We know

f = s + 3

so,

f = 12 + 3

f = 15

Thus,

First Place wins in 15 events

Second Place wins in 12 events