You are lucky ! Because in the second equation the unknown "y" is just expressed via "x". So, all you need to do is to replace "y" in the first equation by (-3x). Then you get the single equation for one unknown y: x - 4*(-3x) = -65, x + 12x = - 65 ====> 13x = -65 ====> x == -5. Last step is to find y. For it, substitute x= -5 into your second original equation to get y = -3*(-5) = 15. Answer. x = -5, y = 15.