LINEAR EQUATIONS WORD PROBLEMS

WORKSHEET

1. A delivery service charges a base fee of $5 plus $2.50 for each package delivered. If the
total cost for delivering a certain number of packages is $25, determine how many packages
were delivered.

2. A youth club is organizing a camping trip. The initial number of boys signed up is 40, and
each week, 2 more boys join the trip. How long will it take for there to be 100 boys signed up?

3. The sum of Maria's age and twice her sister's age is 36. Write a linear equation to represent
this relationship and determine Maria's age if her sister is 8 years old.

4. A taxi service charges a fixed fee of $8 plus $1.75 for each mile traveled. If the total cost for
a taxi ride is $25, determine the number of miles traveled.

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5. The sum of two numbers is 15. Twice the first number added to three times the second
number is 36. Write a system of linear equations to represent this information and find the
values of the two numbers.

6. Jane is organizing a fundraiser. The total number of adults and children attending is 80.
The entrance fee for adults is $10, and for children, it is $5. The total amount collected is
$600. Write a system of linear equations to represent this information and find the number of
adults and children.

7. Alice has $50 and decides to save $5 each week. Bob has no savings initially but saves $8
each week. After how many weeks will Alice and Bob have the same amount of money saved?

8. The present ages of two friends are such that the sum of their ages is 50. Six years ago, one
friend's age was twice the age of the other. Determine their present ages.

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 ANSWERS

1. A delivery service charges a base fee of $5 plus $2.50 for each package delivered. If the
total cost for delivering a certain number of packages is $25, determine how many packages
were delivered.

Let P represent the number of packages delivered.

Let C represent the total cost in dollars
C = 5 + 2.5P
25 = 5 + 2.5P
20 = 2.5P
8=P Therefore 8 packages were delivered.

2. A youth club is organizing a camping trip. The initial number of boys signed up is 40, and
each week, 2 more boys join the trip. How long will it take for there to be 100 boys signed up?

Let B represent the total number of boys

Let w represent the number of weeks
B = 40 + 2w
100 = 40 + 2w
60 = 2w
30 = w Therefore it will take 30 weeks for 100 boys to sign up.

3. The sum of Maria's age and twice her sister's age is 36. Write a linear equation to represent
this relationship and determine Maria's age if her sister is 8 years old.

Let M represent Maria's age

Let S represent her sister's age
M + 2S = 36
M + 2(8) = 36
M = 20 Therefore Maria is 20 when her sister is 8.

4. A taxi service charges a fixed fee of $8 plus $1.75 for each mile traveled. If the total cost for
a taxi ride is $25, determine the number of miles traveled.

Let D represent the number of miles traveled

Let C represent the total cost in dollars
C = 8 + 1.75D
25 = 8 + 1.75D
17 = 1.75D
9.714 = D Therefore the taxi traveled 9.714 miles when the cost is $25.

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5. The sum of two numbers is 15. Twice the first number added to three times the second
number is 36. Write a system of linear equations to represent this information and find the
values of the two numbers.
Let x represent the first number x + y = 15 substitute back into the original equation x + 6 = 15
Let y represent the second number
2x + 3y = 36 x=9
multiply equation 1 by 2 2x + 2y = 30
subtract 2x + 3y = 36
- y = -6
y=6 Therefore the two numbers are 9 and 6.
Note: we can also solve this system using substitution instead by writing the fist
equation as x = 15 - y and substituting it into the second equation.

6. Jane is organizing a fundraiser. The total number of adults and children attending is 80.
The entrance fee for adults is $10, and for children, it is $5. The total amount collected is
$600. Write a system of linear equations to represent this information and find the number of
adults and children.
substitute C=40 into either equation
Let A represent the number of adults
10A + 5C = 600 10A + 5(40) = 600
Let C represent the number of children
10(80 - C) + 5C = 600 substitute it into the second 10A = 400
A + C = 80 A = 80 - C 800 - 10C + 5C = 600 A = 40
10A + 5C = 600 rearrange the first equation - 5C = -200
C = 40
Note: we can also solve this system using elimination
instead using a similar process to the previous problem.
Therefore 40 adults and 40 children attended.

7. Alice has $50 and decides to save $5 each week. Bob has no savings initially but saves $8
each week. After how many weeks will Alice and Bob have the same amount of money saved?
Let A represent the amount of money Alice has saved
Let B represent the amount of money Bob has saved
Let w represent the number of weeks

A = 50 + 5w 50 + 5w = 8w setting the equations equal to one another

B = 8w 50 = 3w
16.67 = w
Therefore, after approximately 17 weeks Alice and
Bob will have saved the same amount of money.

8. The present ages of two friends are such that the sum of their ages is 50. Six years ago, one
friend's age was twice the age of the other. Determine their present ages.

Let A represent the age of one friend substitute it into the second
Let B represent the age of the other 50 - B - 6 = 2(B - 6)
44 - B = 2B - 12 substitute B=18.67 into either equation
A + B = 50 A = 50 - B 56 = 3B A + 18.67 = 50
A - 6 = 2(B - 6) rearrange the first equation
18.67 = B A = 31.33

Therefore one friend is approximately 19

and the other is approximately 31.

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