How am I supposed to solve this?

Question

Five hockey pucks and three hockey sticks cost $63. Five hockey pucks and one hockey stick cost $31. How much does one Hockey puck cost?

Answer 1

5p + 3s = 63

5p + s = 31

 

If we subtract the two equations, we get...

 

2s = 32

s = 16

 

5p + 16 = 31

5p = 15

p = 3

 

Boom.