The sum of two number is 144 * the smaller equal to 3 * the larger find the number

Answer 1

Let's denote the smaller number as \( x \) and the larger number as \( y \).

From the problem statement, we have two equations:

1. The sum of the two numbers is 144: \[ x + y = 144 \]

2. The smaller number is equal to three times the larger number: \[ x = 3y \]

Now, we can substitute the second equation into the first equation. Replace \( x \) in the first equation with \( 3y \):

\[ 3y + y = 144 \]

This simplifies to:

\[ 4y = 144 \]

Now, divide both sides by 4:

\[ y = 36 \]

Now that we have the value of \( y \), we can find \( x \) using the equation \( x = 3y \):

\[ x = 3(36) = 108 \]

Thus, the smaller number is \( x = 108 \) and the larger number is \( y = 36 \).

However, it seems we made a miscommunication in the given terms: smaller and larger are considered incorrectly in the context. Here, rewriting based on the initial equational framework:

1. Smaller number represented here should be the "larger" as \( x \) and \( y \) in mathematical sense, correcting based on \( x + y = 144 \) indicating:
   • Larger = \( y \)
   • Smaller = \( x \)
   • Actual values would then be \( x = 36 \) and \( y = 108\).

Thus the resolved numbers are:

Smaller Number: 36, Larger Number: 108.