Engineering Mathematics Plus

Applications: Solving Equations and Inequalities

I. Translating from English to Algebra

II. Number Relationship and Consecutive Integer Problems

Number Relationship

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Number Relationship

III. Age Problems

IV. Uniform Motion Problems

These problems are governed by the formula 𝑑 = 𝑟𝑡, where 𝑑 = 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑, 𝑟 = 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 at which the
object is traveling or its speed, and 𝑡 = 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 spent traveling.

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Example 1: Two buses left a gasoline station at the same time and traveled in opposite directions, with one bus
traveling at 80 kph and the other at 108 kph. After how many hours will the two buses be 329 kilometers apart?
(Assume that they travel on a straight and parallel highway.)

Solution: Let x be the number of hours it takes for the two buses to be 329 kilometers apart. The distance
traveled by the first bus is 80𝑥 kilometers and the distance traveled by the second bus is 108𝑥. Therefore,

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Example 2: Two airplanes leave the same airport at 8:00 A.M. and travel in the same direction at different
altitudes. The first airplane travels at an average speed of 960 kph and the second plane travels at an average
speed of 810 kph. At what time will the two planes be 450 kilometers apart?

Solution: Let x be the number of hours it takes for the two planes to be 450 kilometers apart. The distance
traveled by the first plane is 960𝑥 and the distance traveled by the second plane is 810𝑥. Since the airplanes
traveled in the same direction, then the distance between the two planes is

Example 3: Michelle left for school at 6:30 A.M. driving her car traveling at a constant speed of 30 kph. At 6:40
A.M., her brother Jake noticed that she had left her research paper on top of the table. Driving his car at a speed
of 75 kph, he left their house at exactly 6:45 A.M. How far has Jake traveled when he reaches Michelle?

Solution: Before we can find the distance traveled by Jake when he reaches her sister, we solve first the number
of hours he had traveled. Let x be the number of hours it takes Jake to reach her sister. Michelle left 15 minutes
earlier than Jake (6:45 - 6:30 = 0:15 or 1/4 hour), therefore by the time Jake reaches her, she has already been
traveling for 𝑥 + ¼ hours. The given information is summarized in the following table.

V. Mixture Problems

Suppose that a 40 ml beverage drink contains 70% alcohol. If a person drinks this beverage, he or she
would consume

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(0.70) (40) = 28 ml of alcohol

To find the quantity of pure substance present in the mixture, we multiply the rate of its concentration to
the total volume of the mixture.

Example 1
A 120 ml bottle of soy sauce contains 35% soybean. Find the amount of soybean in the bottle.

Solution: amount of soybean = (0.35) (120) = 42 ml

An alloy is a metal that is a mixture of two or more metals. If we say 30% gold alloy, it means that the
alloy is 30% gold and 70% of other metals. Thus an 80 grams of 30% gold alloy has 0.30(80) = 24 g gold and
56g of other metals. If we mix a 40% gold alloy with 60% gold alloy, we get a mixture that is between 40% and
60% gold alloy.

Note that the percent concentration of the resulting mixture is always between the percent concentration
of the mixtures that were mixed.

Example 2 In a chemistry class, 6 liters of a 12% alcohol solution must be mixed with a 20% solution to get a
14% solution. How many liters of the 20% solution are needed?

Solution:

The amount of alcohol was found by multiplying the percent concentration and the number of liters.
The number of liters in the resulting mixture is equal to the number of liters in the 12% alcohol solution plus the
number of liters in the 20% solution. The amount of alcohol in the 12% solution plus the amount of alcohol in
the 20% solution must be equal to the amount of alcohol in the 14% solution. Thus,

0.72 + 0.20𝑥 = 0.14 (𝑥 + 6)

0.72 + 0.20𝑥 = 0.14𝑥 + 0.84
0.20𝑥 − 0.14𝑥 = 0.84 − 0.72
0.06𝑥 = 0.12
𝑥=2

The class needs to mix 2 liters of the 20% alcohol solution.

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Example 3 A kilogram of milk chocolate sells for P60, and a kilogram of bittersweet chocolate sells for P80.
How many kilograms of each must be mixed to form 24 kilograms of an assortment selling at P72.50 per
kilogram?

Solution: The given information is summarized in the table below.

The total amount of each kind of chocolate is obtained by multiplying the price/kg by the number of kg. The
resulting mixture must be 24 kg. If milk chocolate is x kg, then there are (24 - x) kg bittersweet chocolate
needed. Similarly, if there are x kg of bittersweet chocolate, then there are (24 - x) kg milk chocolate. The total
amount of milk chocolate plus the total amount of bittersweet chocolate is equal to the total
amount of assorted chocolate. Thus,
60𝑥 + 80(24 − 𝑥) = 1740
60𝑥 + 1920 − 80𝑥 = 1740
−20𝑥 = 1740 − 1920
−20𝑥 = −180
𝑥 = 9
There should be 9 kilograms of milk chocolate and 15 kilograms of bittersweet chocolate.

Example 4 A tank holds 80 liters of a chemical solution. Currently, the solution has a strength of 30%. How
much of this solution must be drained and replaced with a 70% solution to get a strength of 40%?

Solution:

The equation can already be formulated from the diagram:

30%(80) − 30%(𝑥) + 70%(𝑥) = 40%(80)
2400 − 30𝑥 + 70𝑥 = 3200
2400 + 40𝑥 = 3200
40𝑥 = 3200 − 2400
40𝑥 = 800
𝑥 = 20

Therefore, 20 liters of the 30% chemical solution must be replaced with a 70% solution.

VI. Money Problems

A man has 15 pieces of P50-bill or a total of (15)(P50) = P750. Thus, to get the total amount

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of money there is, multiply the number of pieces by the denomination.

[ 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑖𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑠 ] × [𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 ] = 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡

Example 1 Jasmine has 10 pieces of P100-bills and 35 pieces of P20-bills. How much money does she have?

Solution: total amount = (10) (P100) + (35) (P20)

= P1 000+ P700
= P1 700

Example 2 Jaime has a total of P4 800 consisting of P50 and P100-bills. The number of P50-bills is 16 less than
twice the number of P100-bills. How many P50-bills does he have?

Solution: Let x be the number of P100-bills. Then 2x - 16 is the number of P50-bills. We could summarize the
given information in the table below.

The total amount of Jaime's money, which is P4800, is equal to the total amount of P50-bills that he has and the
total amount of P100-bills that he has. Thus,
50(2𝑥 − 16) + 100𝑥 = 4800
100𝑥 − 800 + 100𝑥 = 4800
200𝑥 = 5600
𝑥 = 28
Therefore, there are 28 pieces of P100-bills and 2(28) − 16 = 40 pieces of P50-bills.

VII. Lever Problems

A lever is a simple machine, made of a bar that pivots around a fixed point called the fulcrum. The law
of lever states that the sum of work exerted on one side of the seesaw must be equal to the sum of work exerted
on the other side. This situation is called an equilibrium.

A simple application of this law is when a person sits on a seesaw, the work with which the seesaw
tends to go down can be computed by multiplying the person's weight times his/her distance from the fulcrum.

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Example 1 A child with a mass 40-kilogram weight sits on a seesaw 2.5 m from the fulcrum. How far from the
balancing point must another child with a mass 64-kilogram weight sit to attain equilibrium?

Solution: (𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡1 𝑖𝑛 𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚) (𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒1) = (𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡2 𝑖𝑛 𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚) (𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒2)

(40) (2.5) = (64) (𝑥)
100 = 64𝑥
𝑥 = 1.5625 𝑚

Example 2 If a 60 N is placed 1.5 meters to the left of the fulcrum of a lever and a 45 N is placed 1 meter to the
left of the fulcrum, how far to the right of the fulcrum must a 72 N be placed in order for the system to balance?

Solution: Let x be the distance of the 72-kilogram weight from the fulcrum

𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 (𝑖𝑛 𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚 − 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟) = 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 (𝑖𝑛 𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚 − 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟)
(60) (1.5) + (45) (1) = 72𝑥
90 + 45 = 72𝑥
135 = 72𝑥
𝑥 = 1.875 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠

VIII. Geometry Problems

Many geometric problems involve the perimeters and areas of geometric figures. The following
formulas will be useful in solving these problems.

Example 1 A 130-meter length of fence is used to enclose a rectangular parking lot. The length of the garden is
5 meters more than its width. Find the length and the width of the parking lot to be enclosed.

Solution:

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Some geometric problems involve the concept of angles. Recall that the basic unit of measure of angles is
degree. An angle that measures 1° is 1/360 of a complete revolution. Here are some special angles and their
names: a right angle measures 90°, a straight angle measures 180°. If the sum of the measures of two angles is
90°, the angles are called complementary angles. If the sum of the measures of two angles is 180°, the angles are
called supplementary angles. The sum of the interior angles of any triangle is 180°.

Example 2 The supplement of an angle measures 25° more than twice its complement. Find the measure of the
angle.

Solution:
𝑥 = 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒
90 − 𝑥 = 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
180 − 𝑥 = 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡

𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 = 25 + 2(𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡)
180 − 𝑥 = 25 + 2(90 − 𝑥)
180 − 𝑥 = 25 + 180 − 2𝑥
180 − 𝑥 = 205 − 2𝑥
2𝑥 − 𝑥 = 205 − 180
𝑥 = 25

IX. Investment Problems

If P100 000 is deposited in a bank that pays an interest rate of 3% per annum, it earns P3 000 after the
first year. The bank computes the interest by multiplying the amount deposited called the principal, by the rate of
interest and the length of time it is deposited. We may use the following formula to solve this type of problem.

𝑠𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡 = 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑝𝑎𝑙 × 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 × 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

𝐼 = 𝑃𝑟𝑡

Example 1 Edmound invested P25 000 in a bank certificate that pays 7.5% per annum for
5 years. How much will his money be at the end of 5 years?

Solution: The interest earned at the end of five years is

𝐼 = (𝑃25 000) (0.075) (5)
= 𝑃 9 375
Therefore, Edmound will have a total of P25 000 + P9 375 = P34 375 after 5 years.

Example 2 Joshua wants to earn additional income by investing P54 000 at 12.5% interest rate
per annum for 8 months. How much interest will he earn?

Solution: Before applying the formula, make sure that the time given is converted to years.

Joshua earned P4 500 interest.

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Example 3 A total of P4 000 was invested, part of it at 8% interest and the remainder at 9%. If the total yearly
interest amounted to P350, how much was invested at each rate?

Solution: Let x be the amount invested at 8%, then (4000 − 𝑥) is the amount invested at 9%.

Solving the equation yields,

(100) [0.08𝑥 + 0.09(4000 − 𝑥)] = 350 (100)

8𝑥 + 36000 − 9𝑥 = 35 000
−𝑥 = −1 000
𝑥 = 1000

Therefore, 𝑥 = 𝑃1000 was invested at 8% and 4000 − 1000 = 𝑃3000 was invested at 9%.

X. Clock Problems

The minute hand of a clock moves 1 minute-space every minute. The hour hand of a clock moves 5
5 1
minute-spaces every 60 minutes or 1 minute-space every 12 minutes (60 = 12).
1
Therefore, the hour hand moves 12 of the spaces moved by the minute hand. In solving clock problems,
we use the following representations.

𝑥 - the number of minute spaces moved by the minute hand

𝑥
- the number of minute spaces moved by the hour hand
12

Example 1 At what time between 1 and 2 o'clock are the hands of a clock together?

Solution: Starting with the hands of the clock at 1 o'clock position, let x represent the number of minute-spaces
passed over by the minute hand after 1 o'clock until the hands come together. In the same time, the hour hand
𝑥
passes over 12 minute-spaces. Since the hand of the clock are 5 minute-spaces apart at 1 o'clock,

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Example 2 At what time between 10 and 11 o'clock do the hands of a clock point in opposite directions?

Solution Let 𝑥 - be the number of minute-spaces moved by the minute hand

𝑥
− the number of minute-spaces moved by the hour hand
12

Starting at the 10 o'clock position, the hour hand is 50 minute-spaces ahead of the minute hand. The
hands of the clock are 30 minute-spaces apart when they point in opposite direction. Therefore,

Example 3 Find two different times between 4:00 A.M. and 5:00 A.M. when the hands of a clock are at right
angles to each other?

Solution When the hour hand and the minute hand are at right angles to each other, they are 15 minute-spaces
apart. There are two different times when the hands are at right angles to each other, (a) when the minute hand is
15 minute-spaces behind the hour hand and (b) when the minute hand is 15 minute-spaces ahead of the hour
hand. At 4 o'clock, the hands of the clock are 20 minute-spaces apart.

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XI. Applications of Linear Inequalities

Solving word problems involving inequalities is somewhat similar to solving problems

involving linear equations.

Example 1 Cindy had scores of 95, 82, 93, and 84 on her first four exams of the quarter. What score must she
obtain on the fifth exam to have an average of 90 or better for the five exams?

Solution Let x be the score Cindy must get on the fifth exam.

Therefore, Cindy must get a grade of 96 or better.

Example 2 Eva invests P1000 at 8% yearly interest. How much does she have to invest at 9% so that the total
yearly interest from the two investments is at least P260?

Solution

Therefore, Eva must invest a minimum of P2 000.

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