Question

The teacher wrote two numbers on the board. Eric added the numbers and got

58. Olivia subtracted the second number from the first number and got 28. What
is the first number the teacher wrote on the board?

Answer 1

Let x be the first number that the teacher wrote on the board and y be the second number. From the problem, we know that:

x + y = 58 (from Eric's calculation)

x - y = 28 (from Olivia's calculation)

To find the value of x, we can add the equations together:

x + y = 58

x - y = 28

2x = 86

x = 43

So the first number that the teacher wrote on the board is 43.