Me a minor league baseball team plays 109 games in a season. if the team won 13 more than three times as many games they lost, how many wins and loses did the team have?

Let losses = X

They won 13 more than 3 times as many so wins =  3X +13

Now you have wins  + loses  = total games:

X +3X + 13= 109

Combine like terms:

4x + 13 = 109

Subtract 13 from each side:

4x = 96

Divide each side by 4:

x = 96 / 4

X = 24

Wins = 3X +13

3(24) +13 = 72+13 = 85

Wins = 85 games

Losses = 24 games

your answer would be 10x - 1

because linear equations are a lot simpler than quadratics equations, and linear equations formula is a lot easier to memorize. that's why i think they're harder.