Rick and myra collects stamps. rick has 150 fewer stamps than myra. together they have collected 500 stamps. how much stamps does each person have in their collection. how can i do it without using equations?

The first thing we must do for this case is to define variables.
 We have then:
 x: number of stamps collected by Rick
 y: number of stamps collected by Myra
 We write the system of equations that models the problem:
 
 Solving the system by substitution we have:
 
 Then, the value of x is:
 
 
 each person have in their collection:
 Myra: 325
 Rick: 175

Let
x> Rick's stamps
y> Myra's stamps

we know that
x+y=500> equation 1
x=y-150> equation 2
substitute equation 2 in equation 1
[y-150]+y=500> 2y=500+150> y=650/2
y=325
x=y-150> x=325-150> x=175

the answer is
Rick's stamps> 175
Myra's stamps> 325

this problem involves two variables, so you necessarily have to use a system of equations to solve it