Alexis G. answered • 04/06/21
Experienced Math and Guitar Tutor from Tufts University
I will not outright give you the answer, but I will attempt to illustrate how to translate the language of English into the language of mathematics.
"The sum of three numbers is 54" translates to the following equation
x + y + z = 54
We do not know what the numbers are - all we know is that we have three of them, and they sum to 54
"The first number is 10 less than the second" translates to
x = y - 10
where "x" is the first number and "y" is the second. This equation relates two of our unknown values to each other.
Lastly, there is "the third number is 2 times the second", which translates to
z = 2y
So, let's review what we know:
- x + y + z = 54
- x = y -10
- z = 2y
This is enough information to conclusively determine the values of x, y, and z using techniques to handle these systems of equations. See if you can finish the rest yourself!
