Michael bought 2 notebooks and 1 pen for 7 dollars. rick bought one notebook and 5 pens for 8 dollars

Notebooks=x
pens=y
7=2x+y
8=x+5y ==> x=8-5y
substitute into the first equation
7=2(8-5y)+y
7=16-10y+y
7=16-9y
-9=-9y
y=1
now substitute y to find x
x=8-5y
x=8-5(1)
x=8-5
x=3
assuming you want amount of money for each item, a notebook is $3, and a pen is $1.