Question

one number is 3 less than the second number. twice the second number is 16 less than 4 times the first. Find the smaller of the two numbers.

Answer 1

The number is 11
4n-16 = 2(n+3)
4-16n= 2n+6
4n-=2n+22
2n=22
n=11

4×11=44
44-16=28

2(11+3)=2x14=28

Answer 2

Hello!

To solve this we will use a system of equations, where x is the first number and y is the second.

x=y-3
2y=4x-16

To solve for y we will need to find x first. In the first equation x is equal to y-3. In the second equation we will replace x with y-3 and solve for y.

2y=4(y-3)-16
2y=4y-12-16
2y+16=4y-12+12
2y+28=4y
2y=28
y=14

Now we can use our y value to solve for x.

x=14-3
x=11

Just to check, we will plug the two numbers into the second equation to see if it is true.

28=44-16
28=28

Therefore, the smaller of the two numbers is 11.

I hope this helps!