We let X be the first number and Y be the second number. We use the equation: 15/8 = X/Y and X - Y = 21. We get X in terms of Y using the first equation: (15/8)Y = X. We now plug the value of X in the second equation: (15/8)Y - Y = 21 --> (15/8)Y - (8/8)Y = 21 (8/8 is equak to one so it's the same thing) --> (7/8)Y = 21 --> Y = 24. We use the value of Y to get X = (15/8)(24) = X --> 45. The answers are 45 and 24.
