Find the number of positive integers solutions of the equation $3x+2y=37$
In the world of combinatorics, you can use something commonly known as the "stars and bars" method. Generally put, the equation $$x_1+x_2+\ldots+ x_k = s$$ where $s,x_i$ are positive integers has $\binom{s-1}{k-1}$ many solutions. The quantity $\binom{s-1}{k-1}$ is called a binomial coefficient. A general binomial coefficient $\binom{a}{b}$ where $a,b$ are nonnegative integers with $a \geq b$ is defined as $$\binom{a}{b} =\frac{a!}{b!(a-b)!}$$ which means $$ \binom{s-1}{k-1} = \frac{(s-1)!}{(k-1)!(s-k)!}$$ In your problem we have $s = 37$ and $k = 2$. So, we want to calculate $$\binom{37-1}{2-1} = \frac{36!}{1!\space 35!} = 36$$ However, this tells us that the equation $x+y = 37$ has $36$ solutions. Since your equation is $3x+2y = 37$, we'll want every third $x$ and every second $y$. This is tantamount to dividing $36$ by $3$ and $2$. We get $\frac{36}{3\cdot 2} = 6$, which matches your calculation. (Had the ratio not been an integer, you'd want to round down to the nearest integer). Depending on how large $k$ and $s$ are, you may find the stars and bars method to be preferable to calculating every solution by hand. It really boils down to a pretty easy factorial calculation. I'd say your problem could go either way.