Solving Word Problems: Variables, Constants & Equations

A store sells pencils for $0.50 each and erasers for $0.75 each. If you buy a total of 10 items and spend $6.00, how many pencils and erasers did you buy? Identify the variables and constants in your equation.

• 6 pencils and 4 erasers

• 5 pencils and 5 erasers

• 4 pencils and 6 erasers

• 7 pencils and 3 erasers

Maria is twice as old as her brother. If the sum of their ages is 30, what are their ages? Write an equation to represent this situation and identify the variables.

• Maria is 20 years old and her brother is 10 years old.

• Maria is 30 years old and her brother is 0 years old.

• Maria is 15 years old and her brother is 15 years old.

• Maria is 25 years old and her brother is 5 years old.

A car rental company charges a flat fee of $20 plus $0.15 per mile driven. If you paid $50 for your rental, how many miles did you drive? Set up an equation and identify the constants and variables.

• 100

• 150

• 250

• 200

The perimeter of a rectangle is 50 meters. If the length is 5 meters more than the width, what are the dimensions of the rectangle? Write an equation and identify the variables.

• Width: 10 meters, Length: 15 meters

• Width: 8 meters, Length: 22 meters

• Width: 5 meters, Length: 20 meters

• Width: 12 meters, Length: 17 meters

A school is planning a field trip and needs to rent buses. Each bus can hold 30 students, and they have 120 students going. How many buses do they need to rent? Create an equation to solve this problem and identify the variables.

• 6

• 3

• 4

• 5

A gardener is planting flowers in rows. If each row has 8 flowers and he wants to plant a total of 56 flowers, how many rows will he need? Write an equation and identify the variables and constants.

• 7

• 6

• 8

• 5

A phone company offers a plan that costs $30 per month plus $0.10 per text message. If you spent $50 this month, how many text messages did you send? Set up an equation and identify the variables.

• 250

• 100

• 150

• 200

The sum of three consecutive integers is 72. What are the integers? Write an equation to represent this situation and identify the variables.

• 19, 20, 21

• 23, 24, 25

• 21, 22, 23

• 25, 26, 27

A recipe requires 2 cups of flour for every 3 cups of sugar. If you want to use 12 cups of sugar, how much flour do you need? Create an equation and identify the variables and constants.

• 10 cups of flour

• 6 cups of flour

• 8 cups of flour

• 4 cups of flour

A train travels at a speed of 60 miles per hour. How far will it travel in 3 hours? Write an equation to represent this situation and identify the variables.

• 150 miles

• 90 miles

• 180 miles

• 240 miles