Elliot has a total of 26 books. He has 12 more fiction books than nonfiction books. Let x represent the number of fiction books and y represent the number of nonfiction books.

This system of equations models the number of books.

x + y = 26

x – y = 12

Elliot added the two equations and the result was 2x = 38.

Solve the equation. How many fiction books does Elliot have?

fiction books

How many nonfiction books does Elliot have?

nonfiction books