One number is four times another number. The larger number is also 87 more than the smaller number. Find the numbers.

Question

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Answer 1

Let's call the smaller number x and the larger number y.

Here's what we know:

4x = y

x + 87 = y

 

This translates into:

4x = y = x + 87

We can thus ignore y for now and simply say:

4x = x + 87

 

What we need to do now is isolate x. We start by moving all x to one side by subtracting x to both:

4x - x = x + 87 - x

3x = 87

Then we divide both sides by 3:

3x / 3 = 87 / 3

x = 29

 

Now that we know the smaller number, we can find the larger number and check our answer:

29 * 4 = 116

29 + 87 = 116