Together, Tom and Max have 72 football cards. Tom has 2 more than 4 times as many cards as Max has. How many football cards does Tom have?

Question

Together, Tom and Max have 72 football cards. Tom has 2 more than 4 times as many cards as Max has. How many football cards does Tom have?

Answer 1

turn English into math. 

 

T+M=72

T=2+4M

substitute and solve for M and then plug in and solve for T. And be sure to check. 

 

2+4M+M=72

5M=70

M=14

so T=58 and it checks.