The sum of two numbers is 22. Their difference is 4. What is the greater of the two numbers?
I need to find two numbers, x and y, that satisfy the equations x + y = 22 and x - y = 4. I can try to solve this system of equations by elimination, which means adding or subtracting the equations to eliminate one of the variables. If I add the two equations, I get 2x = 26, so x = 13. That means y = 22 - x = 22 - 13 = 9. So the two numbers are 13 and 9, and the greater one is 13. 