Systems Word Problems

Josh is thinking of two numbers.  Their sum is -10 and their difference is -2.  Which system of equations represents the situation?

• x - y = -10
  x + y = -2
• x = -2 
  y = 5
• x + y = -2
  x - y = -10
• x + y = -10
  x - y = -2

Nancy went to the grocery story.  On Monday she purchased 4 apples and 6 bananas for a total of $13.  On Wednesday she purchased 3 apples and 7 bananas for a total of $13.50.  Which system of equations represents the situation?

• 4x + 6y = 3
  13.5x - 13y = 6
• x + y = 4
  x - y = 6
• 4x + 6y = 13
  3x + 7y = 13.5
• 4x - 6y = 13
  3x - 7y = 13.5

The talent show committee sold a total of 530 tickets in advance. Student tickets cost $3 each and the adult tickets cost $4 each. If the total receipts were $1740, which system could be used to find how many of each type of ticket were sold?

• S + A = 530
  3S + 4A = 1740
• S + A = 530
  4S + 3A = 1740
• S + A = 1740
  3S + 4A = 530
• S + A = 1740
  4S + 3A = 530

Erin is 3 years younger than twice Alex's age. Their ages combined are 33 years. How old are Alex and Erin. If x=Erin's age and y=Alex's age, choose the system that matches the situation.

• x + y = 33
  y = 2x - 3
• x + y = 33
  x = 2y - 3
• x + y = 33
  x = 3 - 2y
• x + y = 3
  x = 33 - 2y

Homer sells tickets for admission to your school play and collects a total of $104. Admission prices are $6 for adults and $4 for children. He sold 21 tickets total.

To solve, I graphed:

x + y = 21

6x + 4y = 104

I got an intersection point at (10,11). What does that mean in context of the problem?

• There are 10 adults and 11 children.

• There are 11 adults and 10 children.

• The adults are $10 and the children are $11.

• There are 104 adults and 21 children.

The little bunny ate 20 carrots and he could eat another 5 carrots a day. The big bunny had already eaten 60 carrots and he could eat 25 more carrots a day. After how many days have the two bunnies eaten the same amount of carrots?

• 5 days

• 2 days

• 6 days

• 4 days

At a local concert hall, the owner charges $7 per ticket to see a band. The owner must pay his band $1200. Every customer receives a brochure that costs the owner $2 for each person.

How many tickets must the owner sell to break even on a concert?

• 133 tickets

• 120 tickets

• 250 tickets

• 240 tickets