SOLUTION: Two men went fishing. They caught a total of 36 fish. X caught 8 times more than Y, how many fish did Y catch?

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Question 112242: Two men went fishing. They caught a total of 36 fish. X caught 8 times more than Y, how many fish did Y catch?
Found 2 solutions by bucky, jim_thompson5910:
Answer by bucky(2189) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Y caught y fish
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X caught 8 times more, so X caught 8y fish
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The total of these two catches is y + 8y which adds to 9y.
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But you know that the total caught was 36 fish. So you know that 9y equals 36.
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In equation form this is:
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9y = 36
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If you divide both sides of this equation by 9 you get:
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y = 36/9 = 4
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So Y caught 4 fish. And since X caught 8 times that amount, X caught 4 times 8 or 32 fish.
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Hope this explanation helps you to see your way through the problem.
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Answer by jim_thompson5910(35256) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!

If they caught a total of 36 fish, then their sum x%2By is equal to 36. In other words, x%2By=36

Now let x=8y (since "X caught 8 times more than Y")

So the sum x%2By=36 becomes 8y%2By=36


9y=36 Combine like terms on the left side


y=%2836%29%2F%289%29 Divide both sides by 9 to isolate y



y=4 Divide

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Answer:
So our answer is y=4


So person Y caught 4 fish. Now plug this into x=8y to find out how many fish X caught


x=8%2A4=32

So person X caught 32 fish


Check:

x%2By=36 Start with the given equation


32%2B4=36 Plug in the values that we previously solved

36=36 Add. So this equation works.