Greg, we are going to have to make a system of equations.
The first equation is that x - y= 9
Since y is the smaller number, 5y = 3x+7.
Now, we need to solve for either x or y in the first equation. In other words, we need to have either x or y by itself on one side. If we solve for x, we have that x = 9+y.
We take that x and plug it into the second equation. 5y = 3(9+y) + 7. Solve this for y, then plug your value back into the first equation to find x.
Does this help?
