Hannah scored a total of 170 points on two math tests. the score of the first test was 6 points lower than the second test. how many points did hannah score on the first test?

Ok so in order to do this, you have to set up an equation. Let's make a=the score of the first test and b=the score of the second test. (You can choose different variables, it doesn't matter.) It says the sum of the two equals 170. So, a+b=170. It also says that the score of the first was 6 less than the second. This can be shown as a=b-6. Now you can plug this in for a in your original equation. It will look like:

(b-6)+b=170

You can solve for b.

2b-6=170
2b=176
b=88

Since you want a, plug into either equation for b. I'll use the second one.

a=88-6

So, a=82