Question

Three times one number added to five times another number is 54. The second number is two less than the first. Use a system of equations to find the numbers

Answer 1

Answer:

8 and 6

Step-by-step explanation:

If you use x for the first number, and y for the second, you get equations of 3x+5y=54 and x-2=y.

You can substitute the second equation into the first one to solve it. This gives 3x+5(x-2)=54.

The brackets can be expanded to 3x+5x-10=54. Collecting like terms makes it 8x-10=54.

Next, we add 10 to both sides. This gives 8x=64.

From there, we isolate the x by dividing both sides by 8, giving x=8.

To work out the second number, we can sub 8 for x in either equation (I'm using the second one as it's simpler).

This comes to y=8-2, therefore y=6.

**This content is simultaneous equations, which you may wish to revise. I'm always happy to help!