the sum of two numbers is 27 and one is 8 times of the other

Question

What are the numbers? 

Answer 1

Let x be one number and y be the other.

 

So the information they've given leads to two equations:

 

x + y = 27  (the sum is 27)

x = 8y   (one is 8 times the other)

 

So substitute  8y for x in the first equation:

 

8y + y = 27

9y = 27

y = 3

 

From the second equation, that means that x is 24.

 

So the numbers are 3 and 24