Solving Two-Step Word Problems: Variables & Inverses

A store sells pencils for $2 each and erasers for $3 each. If you buy a total of 10 items and spend $24, how many pencils and erasers did you buy?

• 7 pencils and 3 erasers

• 5 pencils and 5 erasers

• 6 pencils and 4 erasers

• 4 pencils and 6 erasers

Maria has a certain number of marbles. She gives 5 marbles to her friend and then has 12 left. How many marbles did Maria start with?

• 10

• 17

• 15

• 20

A gardener is planting flowers in rows. If he plants 3 flowers in each row and has 15 flowers total, how many rows does he plant?

• 5

• 6

• 4

• 3

Tom has twice as many stickers as Sarah. If Sarah has 8 stickers and Tom gives 4 stickers to Sarah, how many stickers does Tom have now?

• 8

• 16

• 12

• 10

A book costs $15. If you buy 3 books and pay with a $50 bill, how much change will you receive?

• $0

• $5

• $20

• $10

In a class, the number of boys is 5 more than the number of girls. If there are 20 students in total, how many boys and girls are in the class?

• 6 boys and 14 girls

• 9 boys and 11 girls

• 10 boys and 5 girls

• 8 boys and 7 girls

A recipe requires 2 cups of flour and 3 cups of sugar. If you want to make half the recipe, how many cups of flour and sugar do you need?

• 2 cups of flour and 1.5 cups of sugar

• 1 cup of flour and 1.5 cups of sugar

• 1 cup of flour and 2 cups of sugar

• 2 cups of flour and 3 cups of sugar

A car rental company charges a flat fee of $30 plus $0.20 per mile driven. If a customer pays $50, how many miles did they drive?

• 50 miles

• 75 miles

• 100 miles

• 120 miles

Lily has a collection of stamps. If she buys 10 more stamps and then has 50 stamps, how many stamps did she have before the purchase?

• 20

• 50

• 40

• 30

A movie theater sells tickets for $12 each. If a group of friends buys 5 tickets and pays with a $100 bill, how much money do they get back?

• $40

• $20

• $50

• $30