Situation:

During Capuchino’s last track meet, runners placed either 1st- or 2nd-place in their events. The 1st-place finishers earned 5 points each and the 2nd-place finishers earned 3 points. In total, the Cap team earned 91 points. The number of 2nd-place finishers was one more than double the number of 1st-place finishers.

Start the problem by guessing and checking the quantities you don’t know. Try some numbers for the unknown values and see what you get. Organize your guesses with a table so that you can find patterns. You may or may not find the final solution this way, but it will help you understand the situation better.