Solving Equations with Variables Word Problems

The school that Stefan goes to is selling tickets to a choral performance. On the first day of ticket sales the school sold 3 senior citizen tickets and 1 child ticket for a total of $38. The school took in $52 on the second day by selling 3 senior citizen tickets and 2 child tickets. Which equations represents the system that could be used?

• 1s + 3c = 38

  2s + 3c = 52

• 3s + 1c = 38

  3s + 2c = 52

• s + c = 38

  s + c = 52

Last season two running backs on the Steelers football team rushed a combined (both running backs) total of 1550 yards. One rushed 4 times as many yards as the other. Let x and y represent the number of yards each individual player rushed. Which system of equations could be used?

• x + y = 1550

  y = 4x

• x + y = 1550

  y = x + 4

• y - x = 1550

  y = 4x

Dennis mowed his next door neighbor’s lawn for a handful of dimes and nickels, 80 coins in all. Upon completing the job he counted out (all) the coins and it came to $6.60. Which system of equations could be used to find the exact number of dimes and nickels? (Hint: How much are the coins worth?)

• d + n = 6.60

  .10d + .05n = 80

• d + n = 80

  d + n = 6.60

• d + n = 80

  .10d + .05n = 6.60

On Monday Joe bought 10 cups of Coffee and 5 Doughnuts for his office at the (total) cost of $16.50. It turns out that the doughnuts were more popular than the coffee. On Tuesday he bought 5 cups of Coffee and 10 Doughnuts for a total of $14.25. Which equations could be used to determine the cost of the coffee?

• 10c + 5d = 14.25

  5c + 10d = 16.50

• 10c + 5d = 16.50

  5c + 10d = 14.25

• c + d = 10

  5c + 10d = 16.50

A large pizza at Palanzio’s Pizzeria (c) costs $6.80 plus $0.90 for each topping.The cost of a large cheese pizza at Guido’s Pizza (c) is $7.30 plus $0.65 for each topping. Which system of equations could be used to find the number of toppings when both companies cost the same amount?

• y = 6.80 + .65x

  y=7.30+.90x

• x + y = 6.80

  x + y = 7.30

• y = 6.80+.90x

  y = 7.30 + .65x

At a restaurant the cost for a breakfast taco and a small glass of milk is $2.10. The cost for 2 tacos and 3 small glasses of milk is $5.15. If a system of equations is written, which would be the correct representation of the 2 variables?

• t: # of tacos

  m: # of glasses of milk

• t: Cost of each taco

  m: Cost of each glass of milk

• t: total cost

  m: # of food items

There are 15 animals in a barn.  These animals are horses (x) and chickens (y).  There are 44 legs in all.  Which system of equations represents the situation?

• x + y = 15
  4x + 2y = 44

• 4x + 2y = 15
  x + y = 44

• x = 2y + 44
  4x = y + 15

• 2x - 4y = 44
  x - y = 15

Nancy went to the grocery story.  On Monday she purchased 4 apples (x) and 6 bananas (y) 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

Habiba sold 10 packages of sugar cookies and 2 packages of oatmeal cookies for $56. Ruth sold 9 packages of sugar cookies and 3 packages of oatmeal cookies for $60. What is the price of 1 pack of sugar cookies and 1 pack of oatmeal cookies?

• Sugar Cookies $5 
  Oatmeal Cookies $3

• Sugar Cookies $4
  Oatmeal Cookies $8

• Sugar Cookies $2
  Oatmeal Cookies $6

• Sugar Cookies $3
  Oatmeal Cookies $6