To find the two numbers, let’s define the first number as x. According to the problem, the second number is 3 times the first number, which would be 3x.
We know the sum of the two numbers is 36, so we can write the equation:
x + 3x = 36
Combining like terms gives us:
4x = 36
Now, we can solve for x:
x = 36 / 4
This simplifies to:
x = 9
Now that we have the first number, we can find the second number by substituting x back into the equation for the second number:
3x = 3 * 9 = 27
Thus, the two numbers are 9 and 27.