Hi.
We're going to solve this problem in multiple steps.
First, let's give each of the numbers a letter, since we don't know the value of the numbers. We'll call the first number "x" and the second number "y."
Second, the problem tells us that the first number is "12 less than 5 times another number." So what we have to do now is write that in the form of an equation.
The first number is x and the second number is y, so x = 5y -12.
Third, we can use the other information given us in the problem. "The sum of the two numbers is 144." Again, we are going to write an equation.
x + y = 144
We know, though, that x = 5y + 12, so we're going to substitute that for x in the equation we just wrote.
(5y - 12) + y = 144
Fourth, we can solve for y.
6y - 12 = 144 add 12 from each side
6y = 156 divide each side by 6 so that y is alone
y = 26
Fifth, we can solve for x. We know that x + y = 144, so we can write this equation just like we did before:
x + y + 144
Now we can go ahead and solve for x:
x + 26 = 144 subtract 26 from both sides
x = 118
Sixth, we want to double-check our answer.
x = 5y - 12
118 = 5(26) - 12
118 = 130 - 12 That is true!
x + y = 144
118 + 26 = 144 That is true!
So the value of the larger number is 118.
