Solving Word Problems: Literal Equations for 8th Graders

A recipe requires 2x cups of flour and 3 cups of sugar. If you want to make 4 batches, how many cups of flour do you need? Write the equation and solve for x.

• 8x cups of flour

• 4x cups of flour

• 10x cups of flour

• 6x cups of flour

The area A of a rectangle is given by the formula A = l * w, where l is the length and w is the width. If the area is 48 square units and the width is 4 units, what is the length? Write the equation and solve for l.

• 10

• 8

• 12

• 6

A car rental company charges a flat fee of $50 plus $0.20 per mile driven. If a customer pays $70, how many miles did they drive? Write the equation and solve for m.

• 50 miles

• 150 miles

• 200 miles

• 100 miles

The formula for the circumference C of a circle is C = 2πr, where r is the radius. If the circumference is 31.4 units, what is the radius? Write the equation and solve for r.

• 10.0

• 5.0

• 3.2

• 7.5

A school is planning a field trip and needs to transport students in buses. If each bus can hold 30 students and there are 120 students, how many buses are needed? Write the equation and solve for b.

• 3

• 6

• 4

• 5

The formula for the volume V of a cylinder is V = πr²h, where r is the radius and h is the height. If the volume is 100π cubic units and the radius is 2 units, what is the height? Write the equation and solve for h.

• 15

• 20

• 25

• 30

A phone plan costs $30 per month plus $0.10 per text message. If a customer’s bill is $50, how many text messages did they send? Write the equation and solve for t.

• 100

• 200

• 150

• 250

The formula for the perimeter P of a rectangle is P = 2l + 2w. If the perimeter is 40 units and the width is 10 units, what is the length? Write the equation and solve for l.

• 5

• 20

• 10

• 15

A swimming pool is being filled with water at a rate of 5 gallons per minute. If it takes 60 minutes to fill the pool, how many gallons of water are needed? Write the equation and solve for g.

• 150 gallons

• 400 gallons

• 300 gallons

• 250 gallons

The formula for the speed s of an object is s = d/t, where d is the distance and t is the time. If a car travels 150 miles in 3 hours, what is its speed? Write the equation and solve for s.

• 100 miles per hour

• 75 miles per hour

• 30 miles per hour

• 50 miles per hour