Math Word Problems Demystified - A Self Teaching Guide

SOLUTION:

GOAL: You are being asked to find the distance the person walked to the

stadium.

STRATEGY: Letx¼the time the person walked

andy¼the time the person rode the bus

Since the total time is 2 hours, the first equation is

xþy¼ 2

Since the distances are equal andD¼RT, the second equation is

3 x¼ 22 y

IMPLEMENTATION: Solve the system

xþy¼ 22

3 x¼ 22 y

Solve the first equation fory and substitute the value in the second

equation, and then solve forx.

xþy¼ 2

x
xþy¼ 2 
x

y¼ 2 
x

Then

3 x¼ 22 y

3 x¼ 22 ð 2 
xÞ

3 x¼ 44 
 22 x

LESSON 18 Using Two Equations 215