In the class elections, Connie received 53 more votes than Carl. In all, 221 votes were cast for the two candidates. How many votes did Connie receive?

Question

anonymous · Answer

Carl + 53 = Connie 
Carl + Connie = 221 


Those are your 2 starting equations, and now you know have an equation for what Connie equals, so take that and put it into the other one: 

Carl + (Carl + 53) = 221 
2 Carl = 168 
Carl = 84 votes 

Now place that back into the equation: 

Carl + Connie = 221 
84 + Connie = 221 
Connie = 137 votes 

Then you can test this by placing the 2 numbers into the first equation: 

Carl + 53 = Connie 
84 + 53 = 137