Care to try this simple(?) algebra problem?

I came across the problem on this link Be warned, the article is a teaser. To read the full article, including the answers to the two problems, you have to open a subscription.

The second problem is fairly easy, but I won’t give it away if anybody wants to to think about it. The first one took a little bit of thought. I had to read through it 2 or 3 times just to figure out what they were saying. See how far you can get.

I would also be interested if anybody could provide a link to the subject of the article without having to take out a subscription.