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!