Question

the sum of two numbers is 70. one number is 8 more than the other.whats the smaller number?

Answer 1

hi drizzy

Answer 2

this is a question with two unknowns , and so you need two equations to solve it

Answer 3

that's the tricky part in general - figuring out the two equations from a word problem

Answer 4

so here are the equations I get:
x+y = 70
x = 7y

Answer 5

sorry x=8y for the second

Answer 6

the next step is to substitute the value for a variable in one equation into the other

Answer 7

this is what I get,
Isnt is x for first number, x+8 for second number, then x + (x+8) = 70, 2x +8 = 70
2x=62, x= 31

Answer 8

31 + (31+8) =
31 + 39 = 70