What are two numbers that make a sum of 17 and a difference of 5?

To find two numbers that satisfy both conditions—a sum of 17 and a difference of 5—we can set up a couple of equations.

Let’s call the two numbers x and y. According to the problem, we can create the following equations:

  • x + y = 17 (the sum)
  • x – y = 5 (the difference)

Next, we can solve these equations step by step. First, we can add both equations together:

(x + y) + (x – y) = 17 + 5

This simplifies to:

2x = 22

From this, we find:

x = 11

Now that we have x, we can use the first equation to find y:

11 + y = 17

This leads us to:

y = 6

So the two numbers we are looking for are 11 and 6.

To confirm our solution, we can check both conditions:

  • The sum: 11 + 6 = 17
  • The difference: 11 – 6 = 5

Both conditions are satisfied! Therefore, the two numbers are 11 and 6.

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