the ratio of the 2 numbers is 3:7, if their difference is 24, what is the smaller number?

7x - 3x = 24

Solve for x, then 3x.

To find the smaller number, we need to first determine the values of the two numbers.

Let's assume that the ratio of the two numbers is 3:7. We can represent them as 3x and 7x, where x is a common factor.

Given that the difference between the two numbers is 24, we can set up the equation:

7x - 3x = 24

Simplifying the equation, we have:

4x = 24

Next, we can solve for x by dividing both sides of the equation by 4:

4x/4 = 24/4

x = 6

Now that we know the value of x is 6, we can find the smaller number by substituting it back into the expression 3x:

Smaller number = 3 * x = 3 * 6 = 18

Therefore, the smaller number is 18.