Question 552441
<br><font face="Tahoma">Let S be Lake Superior, and let M be Lake Michigan.<br>

Then we are given:<br>

{{{S+M=54000}}} and {{{S=M+10000}}}<br>

Since the second equation is already solved in terms of S,<br>

lets substitute that value for S into the first equation:<br>

{{{S+M=54000}}} given<br>

{{{(M+10000)+M=54000}}} substituted<br>

{{{M+10000+M=54000}}} simplified<br>

{{{2M+10000=54000}}} combined like terms<br>

{{{2M=44000}}} subtracted 10000 from both sides<br>

{{{M=22000}}} divided both sides by 2<br>

Then we can plug this value for M into either equation to find S:<br>

{{{S=M+10000}}} given<br>

{{{S=22000+10000}}} substituted<br>

{{{S=32000}}} combined like terms<br>

So we can now see that Lake Superior covers about 32000 square miles,<br>

while Lake Michigan covers about 22000 square miles.<br>

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I hope this helps!  :)<br>

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