Question

Separate 72 into 2 parts, one of which shall be 1/3 of the other

Answer 1

54 and 18

Explanation:

You have the equation x+(1/3)x=72. Solving for x, we get (4/3)x=72. Now multiply both sides by (3/4) and we get x=54. That means our first number is 54. The second number is obtained by finding 72-54, which is 18; 18 is one-third of 54, so we have the correct answers of 54 and 18.