Answer:
20, 37
Step-by-step explanation:
You can usually work these "sum and difference" problems in your head.
One of the numbers is half the sum of those given; the other is half their difference.
Here, the smaller number is (57 -17)/2 = 20; the larger is 20+17 = 37.
The two numbers are 20 and 37.
____
Let a and b represent the numbers, and let s and d represent their sum and difference. The two equations you can write are ...
a + b = s
a - b = d
Adding these two equations gives ...
(a +b) +(a -b) = (s) +(d)
2a = s+d
a = (s+d)/2 . . . . . . half the sum of the given numbers
Subtracting the second equation from the first gives ...
(a +b) -(a -b) = (s) -(d)
2b = s-d
b = (s-d)/2 . . . . . . half the difference of the given numbers
