Question

One number is five more than three times another. If their difference is 35, what is the larger number?

15
50
65

Answer 1

50

Explanation:

Answer 2

Let x and y be the two unknown numbers. If one number, say x,is 5 more than 3 times another, say y, the equation would be

x = 5 + 3y

When their difference is 35, x-y = 35, since x is the much larger number here. We substitute x to solve for the smaller number, y.

x - y = 35
(5 + 3y) -y = 35
5 +2y = 35
2y = 35-5
2y = 30
y = 15

The larger number x would be
x = 5 + 3(15)
x = 50

The answer is 50.