<PRE><B>Question 1100983</B>
&lt;br&gt;
You can solve this without algebra, by using logical reasoning.&lt;br&gt;
The first sum is the sum of each of the two numbers once; the second sum is different only in that the second number is added twice.&lt;br&gt;
So the difference between the two sums is the second number.&lt;br&gt;
76-47 = 29, so the second number is 29.&lt;br&gt;
Then the first number is 47-29 = 18.&lt;br&gt;
The algebraic solution does exactly the same thing as this informal solution.  So you should learn the formal process for solving problems like this using algebra; but you should also try to get some exercise in logical reasoning by solving the problem without the formal methods.&lt;br&gt;
Here is an algebraic solution:&lt;br&gt;
{{{x+y = 47}}}
{{{x+2y = 76}}}
{{{y = 29}}}   (subtract the first equation from the second)
{{{x = 47-29 = 18}}}&lt;br&gt;
You can see that, in this case, the steps of the formal solution are exactly the same as the steps of the informal solution.</PRE>