Problem:
Five years ago, Sarah was three times as old as her sister Emma. In five years, Sarah
will be twice as old as Emma. How old are Sarah and Emma now?
Problem:
Five years ago, Sarah was three times as old as her sister Emma. In five years, Sarah
will be twice as old as Emma. How old are Sarah and Emma now?
Solution:
Define the variables: Let Sarah's current age be SSS and Emma's current age
be E
Translate the problem into equations:
Five years ago, Sarah was three times as old as Emma:
Five years ago, Sarah's age was S−5S - 5S−5 and Emma's age was
E−5E - 5E−5. The problem says Sarah was three times as old as
Emma, so:
S−5=3(E−5)
In five years, Sarah will be twice as old as Emma:
In five years, Sarah's age will be S+5S + 5S+5 and Emma's age
will be E+5E + 5E+5. The problem says Sarah will be twice as old
as Emma, so:
S+5=2(E+5)
Solve the system of equations:
Now we have the following system of equations:
S−5=3(E−5)
S+5=2(E+5)
Solve the first equation:
S−5=3(E−5)
Expand the both side
S−5=3E−15
Add 5 both side
S=3E−10(Equation 1)
Solve the second equation:
S + 5 = 2(E + 5)
Expand both sides:
S+5=2E+10
Subtract 5 from both sides:
S=2E+5(Equation 2)
Substitute one equation into the other:
From Equation 1, we know S=3E−10. Substitute this expression for S into Equation 2:
3E−10=2E+5
Solve for E
3E−2E=5+10
E=15
Find Sarah's age:
Now that we know Emma's age is 15, substitute E=15 into either Equation 1 or
Equation 2 to find Sarah's age. Using Equation 2:
S=2E+5=2(15)+5=30+5=35
Final Answer:
Sarah is 35 years old
Emma is 15 years old.
Verification:
Five years ago, Sarah was 35−5=30 and Emma was 15−5=10
Indeed, 30=3×10 times 10, so the first condition is satisfied.
In five years, Sarah will be 35+5=40 and Emma will be
15+5=20. Indeed, 40=2×20 so the second condition is also
satisfied.
Mixture problem
Problem:
A chemist is mixing two solutions: one is 30% alcohol and the other is 50% alcohol.
How much of each solution should be mixed together to obtain 200 milliliters of a
solution that is 40% alcohol?
Solution:
Step 1: Define the Variables
Let:
x be the amount (in milliliters) of the 30% alcohol solution that the chemist will use.
y be the amount (in milliliters) of the 50% alcohol solution that the chemist will use.
Step 2: Set up the system of equations
We are given two pieces of information:
The total volume of the mixture must be 200 mL:
The total volume is the sum of the two solutions, so:
x+y=200(Equation 1)
The total amount of alcohol in the mixture must be 40% of 200 mL (which is 80
mL of alcohol):
The amount of alcohol in the 30% solution is 0.30x
The amount of alcohol in the 50% solution is 0.50y. The total amount of alcohol in the
mixture is the sum of these, and it must equal 80 mL. So, we write the equation:
0.30x+0.50y=80(Equation 2)
Step 3: Solve the system of equations
We now have the following system of equations:
x+y=200
0.30x+0.50y=80
Step 3.1: Solve for y in terms of x from Equation 1
From Equation 1, we can solve for y
y=200−x
Step 3.2: Substitute this expression for y into Equation 2
Substitute y=200−x into Equation 2:
0.30x+0.50(200−x)=80
Now, distribute [Link] to both terms inside the parentheses:
0.30x+100−0.50x=80
Combine like terms:
−0.20x+100=80
Subtract 100 from both sides:
−0.20x=−20
Solve for x
X = -20 = 100
-0.20
So, x=100. This means the chemist should use 100 mL of the 30%
alcohol solution.
3.3: Find y
Now substitute x=100 back into Equation 1 to find y
100+y=200
y=200−100=100
So, y=100y = 100y=100. This means the chemist should use 100 mL of the 50%
alcohol solution.
Final Answer:
The chemist should mix 100 mL of the 30% alcohol solution and 100 mL of the 50% alcohol
solution to get 200 mL of a 40% alcohol solution.
Verification:
The total volume is 100+100=200100 + 100 = 200100+100=200 mL, which is correct.
The total amount of alcohol in the mixture is:
o From the 30% solution: 0.30×100=300.30 \times 100 = 300.30×100=30 mL of
alcohol.
o From the 50% solution: 0.50×100=500.50 \times 100 = 500.50×100=50 mL of
alcohol.
o Total alcohol: 30+50=8030 + 50 = 8030+50=80 mL, which is 40% of 200 mL (the
desired alcohol concentration).
Problem:
A car travels 120 miles to the east at a speed of 40 miles per hour. Then, it turns
around and travels 80 miles back to the west at a speed of 20 miles per hour. How
long did the entire trip take?
Solution:
We need to find the total time the car spent traveling. To do that, we’ll use the
formula for distance, rate, and time:
Time
Time =
distance
The trip consists of two parts:
1. The car travels 120 miles east at 40 miles per hour.
2. Then, the car travels 80 miles west at 20 miles per hour.
Step 1: Calculate the time for the first part of the trip (120 miles
east at 40 miles per hour).
120 miles = 3 hours
Using the formula Time =
40 miles per hour
So, the car takes 3 hours to travel 120 miles east.
Step 2: Calculate the time for the second part of the trip (80
miles west at 20 miles per hour).
ext, using the same formula, the time for the second leg of the trip
is:
Time2= 80 miles = 4 hours
20 miles per/ hour
So, the car takes 4 hours to travel 80 miles west.
Step 3: Find the total time for the entire trip.
The total time is the sum of the time for both parts of the trip:
Total Time=Time1+Time2=3hours+4hours=7hours
Final Answer:
The entire trip took 7 hours.
Verification:
· The car traveled a total of 120 miles+80 miles=200
· The total time for the trip is 3 hours+4 hours=7 hours
· Using the average speed formula, the average speed for the entire trip is
Average Speed = Total Distance = 200 miles ≈28.57miles per hour
Total time 7 hours
This result is consistent with the fact that the car was traveling
faster in the first part of the trip and slower in the second part.