maria and tim sold candy bars for a fundraiser. maria sold 7 less than twice the number of candy bars that tim sold. in total maria and tim sold 137 candy bars. how many candy bars were sold by each?

M = 2T -7

M + T = 137

Substitute 2T-7 for M in the second equation and solve for T. Insert that value into the first equation to solve for M. Check by putting both values into the second equation.

To solve this problem, let's break it down step by step.

Let's assume that the number of candy bars Tim sold is "x".

According to the information given, Maria sold 7 less than twice the number of candy bars that Tim sold.

Twice the number of candy bars Tim sold is 2x.

Therefore, Maria sold (2x - 7) candy bars.

The total number of candy bars sold by both Maria and Tim is given as 137.

So, we can set up the equation:

x + (2x - 7) = 137

Simplifying the equation:

3x - 7 = 137

Adding 7 to both sides of the equation:

3x = 144

Dividing both sides by 3:

x = 48

Now that we know x (the number of candy bars Tim sold) is equal to 48, we can substitute this value back into the equation for Maria:

2x - 7 = 2(48) - 7 = 96 - 7 = 89

Therefore, Tim sold 48 candy bars and Maria sold 89 candy bars.