Systems of Equations Word Problems

1. For each system of equations, define your variables, write a system of equations, and solve. Make
sure to interpret your results (ex: there were 7 student tickets sold and 12 adult tickets sold, etc.).
You may solve using graphing, substitution, or elimination. Show appropriate work. You may
attach graph paper for your graphs if necessary.
2. A used book store also started selling used CDs and videos. In the first week, the store sold a combination of
40 CDs and videos. They charged $4 per CD and $6 per video and the total sales were $180. Determine the
total number of CDs and videos sold.
3. At the end of the 2000-2001 football season, 31 Super Bowl games had been played with the current two
football leagues, the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC).
The NFC won five more games than the AFC. Determine the total number of wins by each conference.
4. The length of Sally’s garden is 4 meters greater than 3 times the width. The perimeter of her garden is 72
meters. Find the dimensions of Sally’s garden.
5. Two times a number added to another number is 25. Three times the first number minus the other number is
20. Find the two numbers.
6. At a sale on winter clothing, Cody bought two pairs of gloves and four hats for $43.00. Tori bought two
pairs of gloves and two hats for $30.00. Find the prices of the hats and gloves.
7. A chemistry lab needs to make 100 gallons of an 18% acid solution by mixing a 12% acid solution with a
20% solution. Find the number of gallons needed of each solution.
8. Anita is years older than Basilio. Three times Anita’s age added to six times Basilio’s age is 36. Find
the age of each person.
9. Gunther invested $10,000 in two mutual funds. One of the funds rose 6% in one year, and the other rose 9%
in one year. Gunther’s investment rose a total of $684 in one year. Find the amount he invested in each
fund.
10. Laura and Brent paddled a canoe 6 miles upstream in four hours. The return trip took three hours. Find the
rate of the current and the rate at which Laura and Brent paddled the canoe in still water.
11. Tickets to a movie cost $7.25 for adults and $5.50 for students. A group of friends purchased 8 tickets for
$52.75. Determine the total number of adult and student tickets.
12. Find the value of two numbers if their sum is 12 and their difference is 4.
13. Flying to Kampala with a tailwind a plane averaged 158 km/h. On the return trip the plane only
averaged 112 km/h while flying back into the same wind. Find the speed of the wind and the speed
of the plane in still air.
14. 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. Find the price of a
senior citizen ticket and the price of a child ticket.
15. The sum of the digits of a certain two-digit number is 7. Reversing its digits increases the number
by 9. What is the number?
16. A boat traveled 210 miles downstream and back. The trip downstream took 10 hours. The trip back
took 70 hours. What is the speed of the boat in still water? What is the speed of the current?
17. The state fair is a popular field trip destination. This year the senior class at High School A and the
senior class at High School B both planned trips there. The senior class at High School A rented
and filled 8 vans and 8 buses with 240 students. High School B rented and filled 4 vans and 1 bus
with 54 students. Every van had the same number of students in it as did the buses. Find the number
of students in each van and in each bus.
18. The senior classes at High School A and High School B planned separate trips to New York City.
The senior class at High School A rented and filled 1 van and 6 buses with 372 students. High
 School B rented and filled 4 vans and 12 buses with 780 students. Each van and each bus carried
the same number of students. How many students can a van carry? How many students can a bus
carry?
19. Brenda's school is selling tickets to a spring musical. On the first day of ticket sales the school sold
3 senior citizen tickets and 9 child tickets for a total of $75. The school took in $67 on the second
day by selling 8 senior citizen tickets and 5 child tickets. What is the price each of one senior
citizen ticket and one child ticket?
20. Matt and Ming are selling fruit for a school fundraiser. Customers can buy small boxes of oranges
and large boxes of oranges. Matt sold 3 small boxes of oranges and 14 large boxes of oranges for a
total of $203. Ming sold 11 small boxes of oranges and 11 large boxes of oranges for a total of
$220. Find the cost each of one small box of oranges and one large box of oranges.
21. A boat traveled 336 miles downstream and back. The trip downstream took 12 hours. The trip back
took 14 hours. What is the speed of the boat in still water? What is the speed of the current?
22. The difference of two numbers is 16. The greater number is 5 less than 4 times the smaller
number. Find the two numbers.
23. A 100-foot cable is cut into two pieces. The first piece is 18 feet longer than the second. How long
is each piece of cable?
24. Three apples and four bananas cost $4.85. Three apples and ten bananas cost $8.75. Find the cost
of an apple.
25. The Rocket Coaster has 15 cars, some that hold 4 people and some that hold 6 people. There is
room for 72 people altogether. How many 4-passenger cars are there? How many 6-passenger
cars are there?
26. Tickets for the Valentine Dance cost $3 per person or $5 per couple. If $475 worth of tickets were
sold and 180 people attended the dance, how many couples were there?
27. Pi High School ordered 40 science books. The next week, the school ordered 30 algebra books.
The bill for the first order was $360 greater than the bill for the second order. The two bills
together totaled $3960. Find the price of an algebra book.
28. Dante has 27 coins that are all dimes and quarters. The value of the coins is $4.35. How many
dimes and how many quarters does Dante have?
29. The larger of two numbers is 11 more than twice the smaller number. The sum of the numbers is 1
less than seven times the smaller number. Find the numbers.
30. 9. A geometry teacher has a set of 60 plastic pentagons and octagons. She happened to notice that
all the figures together have a total of 354 sides (she had lots of spare time to count). How many of
each shape are there?
31. A group of Mayfield students goes out to lunch. If two have burritos and five have tacos, the bill
will be $19.50. If five have burritos and two have tacos, the bill will be $22.50. Find the price of a
taco and the price of a burrito.
32. Three lemon cookies plus two fudge cookies have 400 calories. Two lemon cookies plus three
fudge cookies have 425 calories. How many calories are in each kind of cookie?
33. In Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, Tweedledum says, “The sum of your weight and
twice mine is 361 pounds.” Then Tweedledee says, “The sum of your weight and twice mine is 362
pounds.” Find the weights of Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
34. The difference of two numbers is 15. Five times the smaller number is the same as 9 less than
twice the larger number. Find the numbers.
35. . 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. How many toppings need to be
added to a large cheese pizza from Palanzio’s Pizzeria and Guido’s Pizza in order for the pizzas to
cost the same, not including tax?
36. Ms. Kitts works at a music store. Last week she sold 6 more than 3 times the number of CDs that
she sold this week. Ms. Kitts sold a total of 110 CDs over the 2 weeks. Which system of equations
can be used to find l, the number of CDs she sold last week, and t, the number of CDs she sold this
week?
37. The length of a rectangle is equal to triple the width. Which system of equations can be used to find
the dimensions of the rectangle if the perimeter is 86 centimeters?
38. At a restaurant the cost for a breakfast taco and a small glass of milk is $2.10. The cost for 2 tacos
and 3 small glasses of milk is $5.15. Which pair of equations can be used to determine t, the cost of
a taco, and m, the cost of a small glass of milk?
39. The Frosty Ice-Cream Shop sells sundaes for $2 and banana splits for $3. On a hot summer day, the
shop sold 8 more sundaes than banana splits and made $156.
40. Chase and Sara went to the candy store. Chase bought 5 pieces of fudge and 3 pieces of bubble gum
for a total of $5.70. Sara bought 2 pieces of fudge and 10 pieces of bubble gum for a total of $3.60.
Which system of equations could be used to determine the cost of 1 piece of fudge, f, and 1 piece of
bubble gum, g?
41. At a college bookstore, Carla purchased a math textbook and a novel that cost a total of $54, not
including tax. If the price of the math textbook, m, is $8 more than 3 times the price of the novel, n,
which system of linear equations could be used to determine the price of each book?
42. The price, e, of an entertainment system at Extreme Electronics is $220 less than twice the price, u,
of the same system at Ultra Electronics. The difference in price between the system at Extreme
Electronics and Ultra Electronics is $175. Which system of linear equations can be used to
determine the price of the system at each store?
43. The perimeter of a rectangular wooden deck is 90 feet. The deck's length, l, is 5 feet less than 4
times its width, w. Which system of linear equations can be used to determine the dimensions, in
feet, of the wooden deck?
44. Marcos had 15 coins in nickels and quarters. He had 3 more quarters than nickels. He wrote a
system of equations to represent this situation, letting x represent the number of nickels and y
represent the number of quarters. Then he solved the system by graphing. What is the solution?
45. Some students want to order shirts with their school logo. One company charges $9.65 per shirt
plus a setup fee of $43. Another company charges $8.40 per shirt plus a $58 fee. For what number
of shirts would the cost be the same?
46. Mrs. Travis wants to have a clown deliver balloons to her secretary’s office. Clowns R Fun charges
$1.25 per balloon and $6 delivery. Singing Balloons charges $1.95 per balloon and $2 for delivery.
What is the minimum number of balloons Mrs. Travis needs to purchase in order for Clowns R Fun
to have a lower price than Singing Balloons?
47. Maricella has a bag containing 35 nickels and quarters. The total value of these coins is less than
$2.50. What is the maximum number of quarters that meets these conditions?
48. Two complementary angles have measures of s and t. If t is less than twice s, which system of linear
equations can be used to determine the measure of each angle?