A garden table and a bench cost $977 combined. The garden

[math_celebrity]

A garden table and a bench cost $977 combined. The garden table costs $77 more than the bench. What is the cost of the bench?

Let the garden table cost be g and the bench cost be b. We're given

1. b + g = 977
2. g = b + 77 <-- The phrase more than means we add

Substitute (2) into (1):
b + (b + 77) = 977

Combine like terms:
2b + 77 = 977

Typing this equation into our search engine, we get:
b = $450