The area of a certain desert is nine times the area of another desert. If the sum of their areas is 10,000,000 square miles, find the area of each desert.

Question

What is the area of desert 1 and what is the area of desert 2? 

Answer 1

You have to read word problems very carefully several times.  Then you look at each sentence. The first sentence says the area of one desert is nine times the area of another desert.

Now put this in terms of math symbols.

x= area of one desert

9x = area of the other desert.

Then it says the sum of the areas is 10.000.000 sq. miles.  Sum is the answer when things are added.

x + 9x = 10,000,000

Add like terms

10x = 10,000,000

Divide both sides by 10

x = 1.000.000 sq. miles

I will leave it to you to get the area of the other desert.