Word Problems Involving Systems of Linear Equations

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
• 3s + 3c = 38
  1s + 2c = 52

Last season two running backs on the Steelers football team rushed a combined 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
• y = 1550 + x
  y = x + 4

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 the coins and it came to $6.60.  Which system of equations could be used to find the exact number of dimes and nickels? 

• d + n = 6.60
  .10d + .05n = 80
• d + n = 80
  d + n = 6.60
• d + n = 80
  .10d + .05n = 6.60
• d + n = 80
  .05d + .10n = 6.60

On Monday Joe bought 10 cups of coffee and 5 doughnuts for his office at the 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
• c + d = 5
  5c + 10d = 16.50

A large pizza at Palanzio’s Pizzeria costs $6.80 plus $0.90 for each topping. The cost of a large cheese pizza at Guido’s Pizza 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
• y + .90x = 6.80
  y + .65x = 7.30

The difference of a and b is 3. The sum of a and b is 13. Find the values of a and b.

• a = 7

  b = 10

• a = 8

  b = 5

• a = 10

  b = 13

• a = 6.5

  b = 2

Carlee mowed her next door neighbor’s lawn for a handful of dimes and nickels, 80 coins in all. Upon completing the job she counted out the coins and it came to $6.60. How many nickels and dimes did Carlee earn?

• 40 nickels, 40 dimes

• 52 nickels, 28 dimes

• 28 nickels, 52 dimes

• 30 nickels, 50 dimes

Two small pitchers and one large pitcher can hold 8 cups of water. One large pitcher minus one small pitcher constitutes 2 cups of water. How many cups of water can each pitcher hold?

• 8 large, 2 small

• 6 large, 4 small

• 4 large, 2 small

• 2 large, 2 small

In a pasture, there are horses and chickens. If there are a total of 28 animals and 80 legs, how many chickens and horses are there?

• 10 horses, 18 chickens

• 16 horses, 12 chickens

• 12 horses, 16 chickens

• 18 horses, 10 chickens

Jacob is selling fish and lobsters by the pound. The fish costs $5.25 a pound, while the lobster costs $10.50 a pound. Jacob sells a combined 28.5 pounds of fish and lobster making $215.25. How many pounds of each did he sell?

• 16 pounds of fish and 12.5 pounds of lobster

• 18 pounds of fish and 10.5 pounds of lobster

• 12.5 pounds of fish and 16 pounds of lobster

• 10.5 pounds of fish and 18 pounds of lobster