Michael plays basketball and makes 3 more free throws than twice what Eli makes. Together they make 15 free throws. How many does Eli make?

Answer 1

Let M = Michael's baskets and E = Eli's baskets. The first statement translates to M = 2E + 3. The total baskets M + E = 15. Rearrange the latter to M = 15 - E, then substitute into the first relation: 15 - E = 2E + 3. Subtract 3 from both sides and add E to both sides, then 12 = 3E. So E = 4 -- check this answer against the original problem and it works!