Solving Word Problems with Variables: Grade 8 Equations

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

• 3 pencils and 5 erasers

• 5 pencils and 3 erasers

• 2 pencils and 6 erasers

• 4 pencils and 4 erasers

Maria has twice as many marbles as John. If John has x marbles and together they have 36 marbles, how many marbles does each person have?

• John has 15 marbles and Maria has 21 marbles.

• John has 10 marbles and Maria has 26 marbles.

• John has 18 marbles and Maria has 18 marbles.

• John has 12 marbles and Maria has 24 marbles.

A movie theater charges $10 for adult tickets and $7 for child tickets. If a family buys a total of 5 tickets and spends $43, how many adult and child tickets did they buy?

• 1 adult ticket and 4 child tickets

• 4 adult tickets and 1 child ticket

• 2 adult tickets and 3 child tickets

• 3 adult tickets and 2 child tickets

A gardener has a total of 50 flowers, which are either roses or tulips. If the number of roses is 3 more than twice the number of tulips, how many roses and tulips does the gardener have?

• Roses: 40, Tulips: 10

• Roses: 20, Tulips: 30

• Roses: 33, Tulips: 17

• Roses: 25, Tulips: 25

In a class, the number of boys is 4 less than twice the number of girls. If there are a total of 20 students in the class, how many boys and girls are there?

• 12 boys and 8 girls

• 14 boys and 6 girls

• 8 boys and 12 girls

• 10 boys and 10 girls

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

• 75 miles

• 50 miles

• 120 miles

• 100 miles

A baker makes cookies and brownies. If the number of cookies is 5 more than three times the number of brownies and the total number of treats is 50, how many cookies and brownies did the baker make?

• Cookies: 30, Brownies: 10

• Cookies: 45, Brownies: 5

• Cookies: 50, Brownies: 15

• Cookies: 20, Brownies: 20

A school is selling tickets for a play. Adult tickets cost $12 and student tickets cost $8. If they sold a total of 100 tickets for $960, how many adult and student tickets were sold?

• 20 adult tickets and 80 student tickets

• 50 adult tickets and 50 student tickets

• 30 adult tickets and 70 student tickets

• 40 adult tickets and 60 student tickets

A swimming pool is being filled with water. The pool can hold 500 gallons, and it is currently filled with 200 gallons. If water is being added at a rate of 10 gallons per minute and water is also leaking out at a rate of 2 gallons per minute, how long will it take to fill the pool?

• 50 minutes

• 37.5 minutes

• 45 minutes

• 30 minutes

A bookstore sells novels for $15 each and textbooks for $25 each. If a customer buys a total of 8 books and spends $150, how many novels and textbooks did they buy?

• 5 novels and 3 textbooks

• 4 novels and 4 textbooks

• 3 novels and 5 textbooks

• 6 novels and 2 textbooks