Solving Multi-Step Equations – Blue Problems

Read the following example to help you understand how to complete the remaining
problems in this assignment.

Example 1

Potato Peeling Problem. Butch starts peeling potatoes at the rate of 3

potatoes per minute. Four minutes later Janet joins him and peels at the
rate of 5 potatoes per minute. Butch continues at 3 per minute.

a. Define a variable for the number of minutes Butch has been peeling.

b. Write expressions for:

i the number of minutes Janet has been peeling;
ii the number of potatoes Butch has peeled;
iii the number of potatoes Janet has peeled;
iv the total number of potatoes that have been peeled.

c. Write an equation stating that they have peeled a total of 36 potatoes.

Then solve the equation to find out how long Butch has been peeling
when 36 have been peeled.

d. How many of the 36 potatoes did each one peel?

_____ _____

a. Let x = the number of minutes Butch has been

peeling. (See note 1.)

_____ _____

b. i x - 4 = number of minutes Janet has

been peeling. (See note 2.)

ii 3 x = number of potatoes Butch has

peeled. (See note 3.)

iii 5( x - 4) = number of potatoes Janet has

peeled. (See note 4.)

iv 3 x + 5( x - 4) = total number of potatoes.

 Think These Reasons

c. 3 x + 5( x - 4) = 36 Set total number of potatoes equal to 36.

3 x + 5 x - 20 = 36 Distribute the 5.

8 x - 20 = 36 Combine like terms.

8 x = 56 Add 20 to each member.

x =7 Divide each member by 8.

Butch peeled for 7 min. Answer the question.

_____ _____

d.
Substitute 7 for x in the appropriate
expressions and evaluate.

Butch peeled 21 potatoes. Answer the question. (See note 5.)

Janet peeled 15 potatoes.

Notes:

1. You should always write a definition of the variable, even if it is given in

the problem. This way you will not forget which of the variable
quantities it stands for.
2. Since Janet starts 4 minutes after Butch, she has been peeling for 4
fewer minutes. So her time is 4 less than x .
3. Three potatoes per minute for x minutes gives 3 x potatoes.
4. Multiply Janet’s rate, 5, by her time, ( x - 4).
5. You can check your answers by seeing that 21 and 15 have a sum of 36,
the total number of potatoes peeled.

Some problems involve distances. For these problems, it is helpful to draw a

diagram showing the distances. You can mark the expressions representing
the distances on the diagram.
1. Coal Shoveling Problem. Doug Upp can shovel coal at the rate of 16 tons per
day. His brother, Sid, can shovel 10 tons per day.

a. Define a variable for the number of days Doug has been shoveling. Then
write an expression for the number of tons Doug has shoveled.

b. Three days later Sid joins Doug, and both shovel together. Write an
expression for the number of days Sid has been shoveling in terms of
the variable in part a. Then write an expression for the number of tons
Sid has shoveled.

c. Write an equation stating that the total number of tons Doug and Sid
have shoveled is 100. Then solve the equation to find out how many days
Doug dug when they have shoveled this much coal.

d. How much of the 100 tons did Sid shovel?

2. Dishwashing Problem. Moe Tell starts washing dishes at the Greasy Spoon
Café. Fifteen minutes later Fran Tick joins Moe, and both wash until all the
dishes are done.

a. Define a variable for the number of minutes Moe has been washing
dishes. Then write an expression in terms of that variable for the
number of minutes Fran has been washing.

b. Moe washes 9 dishes per minute and Fran washes 16 dishes per minute.
Write expressions representing the number of dishes Moe has washed
and the number of dishes Fran has washed.

c. Write an equation stating that the total number of dishes washed is

760. Then solve it to find out how long Moe worked.

d. How many dishes did each one wash?

3. Plumber Problem. Nick O’ Time, the plumber, charges $30 per hour. His
brother, Ivan, the plumber’s helper, charges $20 per hour. Nick starts
working on a job. Four hours later, Ivan joins him and both work until the
job is finished.

a. If Nick has been working for x hours, how long has Ivan been working?

b. Write expressions for the number of dollars Nick has earned and for
the number of dollars Ivan has earned after x hours.

c. The total bill for the job is $470. Write an equation stating this fact,
 and solve it to find out how long Nick worked.

d. How much of the $470 does each one get?

4. Your normal walking rate is 180 feet per minute. How far can you walk in
three hours at your normal walking rate?

5. The kite shown below has an area of 120 square inches.

Find the unknown length x .

8 in.

12 in.

6. The sum of three numbers is 65. Let x be the first number. The second
number is four times the first number and the third number is two times
the second number. What are the three numbers?

Solve the problem by writing an equation and solving it. Check your answer.

7. The sum of two numbers is 24. One number is three times the other. Find
both numbers.

8. The length of a rectangle is 6 m more than the width. The perimeter of the
rectangle is 20 m. Find the length and width.
9. Judy is five years older than Punch. If the sum of their ages is 47, how old
is each?

10. The difference in the ages of two people is 8 years. The older person is 3
times the age of the younger. How old is each?

PROBLEMS INVOLVING CONSECUTIVE INTEGERS

11. Find three consecutive integers whose sum is equal to 366.

12. The sum of three consecutive even integers is equal to 84. Find the
numbers.
13. The sum of an odd integer and twice its consecutive is equal to equal 3757.
Find the number.

14. Find four consecutive even integers so that the sum of the first two added
to twice the sum of the last two is equal to 742.

15. A Case of Too Little Information. Will, Emma, and I have also talked
about the problems that arise when a client leaves out information. That
happens a lot, unfortunately. Take, for example, a case Will had recently.

It was 9:30 in the evening, and Will was taking a last look at his e-mail
messages. There was one from Ralph, one of his grandfather’s oldest and
dearest friends. Will was surprised. He hadn’t even known that old Ralph
had a computer. The message had its share of friendly chatter, but it also
contained a problem that had Ralph good and stumped.

Ralph, it seems, was in a

charitable mood and wanted to
give a gift of money to each of
his grandkids. He had decided
to split $100 among them. His
idea was to give each
grandchild $5 more than the
next younger grandchild. His
question for Will was, “How
much do I give to my youngest grandchild?”

It was late, and Will was a little tired. The first thing he thought was, How
can I get my, grandfather to think more like Ralph here? Then, without
thinking, Will began to jot down some computations. He figured that he
could solve this little puzzle easily by writing and solving an equation.
Simple. Will wrote the following: x = the amount of money the youngest
lucky grandchild would get. Then he stopped. He put down his No. 2 pencil
and sighed. Before he could go any further, he had a question that Ralph
had to answer.

a. What information did Will need before he could solve the gift-giving
problem?

b. Assume that Ralph had 4 grandchildren. Solve the problem now.

16. Membership Boom. There was a surge in math club membership after the
 fun Halloween party. When the principal asked Mrs. Germain how many
students were currently in the club, she replied, “Three times our number
plus a third of our number plus a fourth of our number plus you and me is
two hundred sixty.”

The principal smiled and nodded, then added, “If you can pick up another
eight students before your Christmas party you will have exactly 10% of
the student body involved in the club.”

a. How many students are enrolled in the math club?

b. How many students are in the school?

17. An Irritating Inheritance. Nat Kudan never did anything the easy way. He
never did things the easy way when he was a boy. He never did things the easy way
when he was a young man. Now that he’s an old man, he certainly never does things
the easy way.

Nat’s peculiar ways mean more clients for Emma and Will. You see, Nat has a big
family. You can usually find one of them sitting in the detectives’ office with some
kind of mess to untangle. The other day it was Nat’s niece, Libby.

Libby is a nice niece to Nat. No one would say that she wasn’t. Her brothers
Hector and Dave are nice nephews to the
old man, too. Yes, Nat has a nice niece and
two nice nephews. He knows this and so,
when he made his will, he left a portion of
his wealth to the three of them. He told
them, too. This would have been well and
good were it not for Nat’s naughty side.

“You won’t believe this will,” said Libby.

“We hope Uncle Nat lives forever. We love
him. But also, if he does, that may give us
enough time to untangle this will of his.” As
she spoke, Libby slid her copy of the will
out a large envelope and placed it before Emma and Will. She pointed out the part
about her and her brothers.

The twins read it together. What it said was that Dave, the oldest, was to inherit
five times as much money as Libby. Libby, the youngest, was to inherit two-fifths
as much as Hector, the one in the middle. The will specified that the sum the
three would share was $102,000.

“According to what we read here, you three stand to inherit a big pile of cabbage
 from Uncle Nat,” said Will.

Libby responded, “That may be true, but why can’t Uncle Nat do anything the easy
way? We can’t figure out how much money each of us will get. Help!”

How much money will Libby, Hector, and Dave get from Uncle Nat?

18. When two people are on opposite ends of a teeter-totter, it will balance if
the product of the weight of person A and her distance from the middle is
equal to the product of person B’s weight and his distance from the middle.
When Ray sits four meters from the middle and Fay sits five meters from
the middle on the other side, the teeter-totter will balance if Fay is
holding her son, Trey. Ray weighs 180 pounds, and Fay weighs 135 pounds.

How many pounds does Trey weigh?

Example

Train Problem. A freight train leaves point A going 50 km/h. Two hours
later, a passenger train leaves A going in the same direction at 80 km/h.
How long will it take the passenger train to catch the freight train?

This is a relative rate problem.

Let t = number of hours for the passenger train to catch up.
In two hours, the freight train has gone 2 x 50 = 100 km.
The passenger train catches up at a rate of 80 – 50 = 30 km/h
So the passenger train must catch up 100 km at 30 km/h.

distance = rate x time

100 = 30t
1
33 =t
3 h 20 min.

This example shows a shortcut, using the concept of relative rate. The
passenger train catches up 100 kilometers at a relative rate of 30 km/h.
There are other algebraic ways to do this problem, but the relative rate
technique is far superior.

19. J and K start from 600 km apart and approach each other at constant, but
different, rates. It takes 12 hours for them to meet. If J goes 10 km/h
faster than K, how fast does each one travel?
 20. Consuela Lopez drove 20 miles to visit a friend, averaging 25 miles per hour,
and then she took a different route back, averaging the same speed. Her
entire trip took 2 hours. Write and solve an equation to find the distance d
that she drove on the way back.

21. Linda left home and drove for 2 hours. She stopped for lunch then drove
for another 3 hours at a rate that is 10 mph higher than the rate before
she had lunch. If the total distance Linda traveled is 230 miles, what was
the rate before lunch?

Solving Multi-Step Equations – Blue Solutions

1. Coal Shoveling Problem.

a. 16 x

b. x - 3, 10( x - 3)

c. 5 days

d. 20 tons

2. Dishwashing Problem.

a. m = minutes Moe working; Fran working: (m – 15)

b. Moe: 9m, Fran: 16(m-15)

c. 9m + 16(m-15) = 760; m=40

d. Moe – 360 dishes, Fran – 400 dishes

3. Plumber Problem.

a. x = Nick’s no. of hours

x - 4 = Ivan’s no. of hour

b. 30 x = Nick’s no. of dollars

20( x - 4) = Ivan’s no. of dollars

c. 11 hours

d. Nick $330, Ivan $140

4. 32,400 ft
 5. 12 inch

6. First number: 5; second number: 20; third number: 40

7. The numbers are 6 and 18

8. 2 and 8

9. They are 21 and 26 years old

10. They are 12 and 4

PROBLEMS INVOLVING CONSECUTIVE INTEGERS

11. Let the three numbers be x, x + 1 and x + 2. their sum is equal to 366, hence
x + (x + 1) + (x + 2) = 366

Solve for x and find the three numbers

x = 121, x + 1 = 122 and x + 2 = 123

12. The difference between two even integers is equal to 2. let x, x + 2 and x + 4 be the three
numbers. Their sum is equal to 84, hence
x + (x + 2) + (x + 4) = 84

Solve for x and find the three numbers

x = 26, x + 2 = 28 and x + 4 = 30

The three numbers are even. Check that their sum is equal to 84.

13. The difference between two odd integers is equal to 2. let x be an odd integer and x + 2 be
its consecutive. The sum of x and twice its consecutive is equal to 3757 gives an equation of
the form
x + 2(x + 2) = 3757

Solve for x x = 1251

Check that the sum of 1251 and 2(1251 + 2) is equal to 3757.

14. Let x, x + 2, x + 4 and x + 6 be the four integers. The sum of the first two
x + (x + 2)

twice the sum of the last two is written as

2((x + 4) + (x + 6)) = 4x + 20

Sum of the first two added to twice the sum of the last two is equal to 742 is written as
x + (x + 2) + 4x + 20 = 742

Solve for x and find all four numbers

x = 120, x + 2 = 122, x + 4 = 124, x + 6 = 126

As an exercise, check that the sum of the first two added to twice the sum of the last two
 is equal to 742

15. A Case of Too Little Information.

a. He needs to know how many grandchildren Ralph has.

b. If Ralph had 4 grandchildren, the problem could be solved by writing and solving the
following equation:
Let x = the amount the youngest grandchild gets:
x + ( x + 5) + ( x + 10) + ( x + 15) = 100

16. Membership Boom.

a. Let n = the number of students in the math club.
1 1
3n +
3 n + 4 n + 2 = 260
7
3
12 n + 2 = 260
7
3
12 n = 258
n = 72
Then, if the 72 math club students gain 8 more members before the Christmas
pageant they would have a total of 80 members in the Math Club, and 10% of the
schools students, also. 72 + 8 = 80 members.

b. Let n = student population in WHOLE school

80 10
=
n 100
n = 800 students in the student body.

17. An Irritating Inheritance.

5
One possible equation to use is x + x x x represents the smallest
2 + 5 = 102,000, where
inheritance, the amount of money Libby will receive.
Suggested Solution:
Libby - $12,000; Hector - $30,000; Dave - $60,000

18. Since the teeter-totter is in balance, we can write an equation with the appropriate products
of distance and weight on each side. We can use T for Trey’s unknown weight. 4 x 180 =
5(135 + T); 720 = 675 + 5T; 45 = 5T; 9 = T. Trey weighs 9 pounds.

19. J: 30 km/h, K: 20 km/h

20. 20 d
Sample equation:
25 + 25 = 2; 30mi
21. If x is the rate at which Linda drove before lunch, the rate after lunch is equal to x + 10.
The total distance D traveled by Linda is given by
D = 2x + 3(x + 10)
And is equal to 230 miles. Hence
2x + 3(x + 10) = 230
Solve for x to obtain
x = 40 miles/hour.
 Bibliography Information
Teachers attempted to cite the sources for the problems included in this problem set. In some
cases, sources were not known.

Problems Bibliography Information

The Math Forum @ Drexel

16
(http://mathforum.org/)

Math Counts
18
(http://mathcounts.org)

Algebra I: Expressions,
Equations, and Applications
(Hardcover)~ Paul A.
1 – 3, 19 - 21
Foerster, Addison-Wesley
Publishing Company, Menlo
Park, CA, 1999

Larson, Ron, Laurie Boswell,

4 - 10 Timothy D. Kanold, and Lee
Stiff. Algebra 1 Concepts and
Skills. Evanston: McDougal
Littell, 2001. Print.

15 , 17 Lee, Martin and Marcia

Miller. 40 Fabulous Math
Mysteries Kids Can’t Resist.
Scholastic. 2001.