Question

Neil and Tom love to collect baseball cards. Neil has 83 more baseball cards than Tom. Neil has 517 baseball cards,How many baseball cards does Tom have?

Answer 1

We start by labeling the number of cards of each. The number of cards that Neil has will be "N", and the number of cards that Tom has will be "T".

We are told that Neil has 83 more baseball cards than Tom, this can be represented in an equation:

`N=T+83`

In this expression, we say that the number of cards that Neil has is equal to the number of cards that Tom has plus 83 more cards.

Since the problem also indicates that Neil has 517 baseball cards:

`N=517`

And we can combine the two equations we have as follows:

`T+83=517`

With this last equation, we will be able to find the number of baseball cards that Tom has, by solving for T.

To solve for T, we subtract 83 to both sides of the equation:

`T+83-83=517-83`

On the left side +83-83 cancel each other:

`T=517-83`

And making the subtraction on the right side, we get the value of T:

`T=434`

Tom has 434 baseball cards.

Answer: 434