Let x represent number of redwood trees and y represent number of spruce trees.
We have been given that a park ranger bought 12 trees. We can represent this information in an equation as:
We are also told that redwood trees cost $24 each, so cost of x redwood trees would be .
Each spruce tree costs $16, so cost of y spruce trees would be .
Since the park ranger spent $208 on trees, so we can represent this information in an equation as:
Upon substituting equation (1) in equation (2), we will get:
Therefore, the park ranger bought 2 redwood trees.
Upon substituting in equation (1), we will get:
Therefore, the park ranger bought 10 spruce trees.