We have an equation in the first sentence we are given. Mike and Alice together recycled 147 bottles, so in equation form that looks like this:
M + A = 147.
That alone doesn't do us much good because we have 2 unknowns. The next sentence gives us Mike's number of bottles based on Alice's. If the number Mike recycles is 6 times as many as Alice, replace the word "is" with an "=" and "6 times as many as Alice" with 6A to get:
M = 6A
Now we can go back to the first equation and replace M with 6A:
6A + A = 147
Now we only have A's. That's a good thing. Solve for A:
