Lets use elimination to solve the system of equations. We do this by adding the two equations terms together.
a + b = 5
a - b = 3
(a + a) + (b + (- b)) = (3 + 5)
2a + 0 = 8
We can then solve this new equation for a.
2a = 8
a = 4
After this, we can plug in the value of a into one of the equations and solve for b.
a + b = 5
4 + b = 5
b = 1
You're correct, the answer is 1.
