Story Problems Using Elimination to Solve Systems of Equations

There are 15 animals in a barn.  These animals are horses and chickens.  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 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

Hint: Solve for x and y. Then solve for s and t.

x = s + 1

y = t - 2

• (2, 4)

• (3, 2)

• (1, 2)

• (1, 6)

• (3, 6)

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

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

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

David is running a concession stand at a soccer game. He sells nachos and sodas. Nachos cost $1.50 each and sodas cost $0.50 each. At the end of the game, David made a total of $78.50 and sold a total of 87 nachos and sodas combined. Which system of equations represents this situation?

• (35, 52)

• (18, 69)

• ( 52, 35) 

• (61, 26)

The senior class at Orchard Collegiate High School rented and filled 11 vans and 3 buses with 283 students. The senior class at Essex High School rented and filled 12 vans and 14 buses with 770 students. How many students were on each van and each bus?

• Van 43
  Bus 14

• Van 11
  Bus 21

• Van 14
  Bus 43

• Van 17
  Bus 45

On the first night, the Movie House Theater sold 7 adult tickets and 11 child tickets for $227. On the second night they took in $150 by selling 6 adult tickets and 6 child tickets. Find the price of an adult ticket and the price of a child ticket.

• Adult $13
  Child $5

• Adult $10
  Child $6

• Adult $8
  Child $16

• Adult $12
  Child $13