Question

During the 1998-1999 Junior Hockey League season, the Sharks played 66 games. Together, their wins and losses totaled 59. They tied 14 fewer games than they lost. How many games did they win that season?

Answer 1

We make
`w` an integer that represents the Sharks' wins,
`l` represent the losses, and
`t` represent the ties.

We know that
`w+l+t=66`,
`w+l=59`, and
`t+14=l`.

We subtract the first two equations, to get
`t=7`. If we plug this into the third equation, we get
`l=21`.

We plug this into the first equation and get
`(w)+(21)+(7)=66`. Simplifying, we find that
`w=\boxed{38\text{ games}}`.