Example #1:

A football team lost 5 yards and then gained 9. What is the team's progress?

Solution

For lost, use negative. For gain, use positive.

Progress = -5 + 9 = 4 yards

Example #2:

Use distributive property to solve the problem below:

Maria bought 10 notebooks and 5 pens costing 2 dollars each.How much did Maria pay?

Solution

2 × (10 + 5) = 2 × 10 + 2 × 5 = 20 + 10 = 30 dollars

Example #3:

A customer pays 50 dollars for a coffee maker after a discount of 20 dollars

What is the original price of the coffee maker?

Solution

Let x be the original price.

x - 20 = 50

x - 20 + 20 = 50 + 20

x + 0 = 70

x = 70

Example #4:

Half a number plus 5 is 11.What is the number?

Solution

Let x be the number. Always replace "is" with an equal sign

(1/2)x + 5 = 11

(1/2)x + 5 - 5 = 11 - 5
(1/2)x = 6

2 × (1/2)x = 6 × 2

x = 12

Example #5:

The sum of two consecutive even integers is 26. What are the two numbers?

Solution

Let 2n be the first even integer and let 2n + 2 be the second integer

2n + 2n + 2 = 26

4n + 2 = 26

4n + 2 - 2 = 26 - 2

4n = 24

n=6

So the first even integer is 2n = 2 × 6 = 12 and the second is 12 + 2 = 14

Below are more complicated algebra word problems

Example #6:

The ratio of two numbers is 5 to 1. The sum is 18. What are the two numbers?

Solution

Let x be the first number. Let y be the second number

x/y=5/1

x + y = 18

Using x / y = 5 / 1, we get x = 5y after doing cross multiplication

Replacing x = 5y into x + y = 18, we get 5y + y = 18

6y = 18

y=3
x = 5y = 5 × 3 = 15

As you can see, 15/3 = 5, so ratio is correct and 3 + 15 = 18, so the sum is correct.

Example #7: Algebra word problems can be as complicated as example #7. Study it carefully!

Peter has six times as many dimes as quarters in her piggy bank. She has 21 coins in her piggy
bank totaling $2.55

How many of each type of coin does she have?

Solution

Let x be the number of quarters. Let 6x be the number of dimes

Since one quarter equals 25 cents, x quarters equals x × 25 cents or 25x cents

Since one dime equals 10 cents, 6x dimes equals 6x × 10 cents or 60x cents

Since one 1 dollar equals 100 cents, 2.55 dollars equals 2.55 × 100 = 255 cents

Putting it all together, 25x cents + 60x cents = 255 cents

85x cents = 255 cents

85x cents / 85 cents = 255 cents / 85 cents

x=3

6x = 6 × 3 = 18

Therefore Peter has 3 quarters and 18 dimes

Example #8:

The area of a rectangle is x2 + 4x -12. What are the dimensions of the rectangle (length and width)?

Solution

The main idea is to factor x2 + 4x -12

Since -12 = -2 × 6 and -2 + 6 = 4

x2 + 4x -12 = ( x + -2) × ( x + 6)

Since the length is usually longer, length = x + 6 and width = x + -2

Example #9: A must know how when solving algebra word problems
The area of a rectangle is 24 cm2. The width is two less than the length. What is the length and width
of the rectangle?

Solution

Let x be the length and let x - 2 be the width

Area = length × width = x × ( x - 2) = 24

x × ( x - 2) = 24

x2 + -2x = 24

x2 + -2x - 24 = 0

Since -24 = 4 × -6 and 4 + -6 = -2, we get:

(x + 4) × ( x + -6) = 0

This leads to two equations to solve:

x + 4 = 0 and x + -6 = 0

x + 4 = 0 gives x = -4. Reject this value since a dimension cannot be negative

x + -6 = 0 gives x = 6

Therefore, length = 6 and width = x - 2 = 6 - 2 = 4

Example #10:

The sum of two numbers is 16. The difference is 4. What are the two numbers?

Let x be the first number. Let y be the second number

x + y = 16

x-y=4

Solution

Let x be the first number. Let y be the second number

x + y = 16

x-y=4
Solve the system of equations by elimination

Adding the left sides and the right sides gives:

x + x + y + -y = 16 + 4

2x = 20

x = 10

Since x + y = 16, 10 + y = 16

10 + y = 16

10 - 10 + y = 16 - 10

y=6

The numbers are 10 and 6

The algebra word problems I solved above are typical questions. You will encounter them a lot in
algebra. Hope you had fun solving these algebra word problems.
 WORD PROBLEMS require practice in translating verbal language into
algebraic language. See Lesson 1, Problem 8. Yet, word
problems fall into distinct types. Below are some examples.
Example 1. ax ± b = c. All problems like the following lead eventually to
an equation in that simple form.
Jane spent $42 for shoes. This was $14 less than twice what she spent
for a blouse. How much was the blouse?
Solution. Every word problem has an unknown number. In this problem, it
is the price of the blouse. Always let x represent the unknown number. That
is, let x answer the question.
Let x, then, be how much she spent for the blouse. The problem states
that "This" -- that is, $42 -- was $14 less than two times x.
Here is the equation:
2x − 14 = 42.

2x = 42 + 14 (Lesson 9)

= 56.

56
x=
2

= 28.
The blouse cost $28.
Example 2. There are b boys in the class. This is three more than four
times the number of girls. How many girls are in the class?
Solution. Again, let x represent the unknown number that you are asked to
find: Let x be the number of girls.

(Although b is not known, it is not what you are asked to find.)

The problem states that "This" -- b -- is three more than four times x:
4x + 3 = b.
Therefore,
 4x = b − 3

b−3
x= .
4
The solution here is not a number, because it will depend on the value
of b. This is a type of "literal" equation, which is very common in algebra.

Example 3. The whole is equal to the sum of the parts.

The sum of two numbers is 84, and one of them is 12 more than the
other. What are the two numbers?
Solution. In this problem, we are asked to find two numbers. Therefore, we
must let x be one of them. Let x, then, be the first number.
We are told that the other number is 12 more, x + 12.
The problem states that their sum is 84:

= 84
The line over x + 12 is a grouping symbol called a vinculum. It saves us
writing parentheses.
We have:
2x = 84 − 12
= 72.
72
x=
2
= 36.
This is the first number. Therefore the other number is
x + 12 = 36 + 12 = 48.
The sum of 36 + 48 is 84.
Example 4. The sum of two consecutive numbers is 37. What are they?
Solution. Two consecutive numbers are like 8 and 9, or 51 and 52.
Let x, then, be the first number. Then the number after it is x + 1.
The problem states that their sum is 37:
= 37
2x = 37 − 1

= 36.

36
x=
2

= 18.
The two numbers are 18 and 19.
Example 5. One number is 10 more than another. The sum of twice the
smaller plus three times the larger, is 55. What are the two numbers?
Solution. Let x be the smaller number.
Then the larger number is 10 more: x + 10.
The problem states:
2x + 3(x + 10) = 55.
That implies
2x + 3x + 30 = 55. Lesson 14.
5x = 55 − 30 = 25.
x = 5.
That's the smaller number. The larger number is 10 more: 15.
Example 6. Divide $80 among three people so that the second will have
twice as much as the first, and the third will have $5 less than the second.
Solution. Again, we are asked to find more than one number. We must
begin by letting x be how much the first person gets.
Then the second gets twice as much, 2x.
And the third gets $5 less than that, 2x − 5.
Their sum is $80:

5x = 80 + 5
 85
x=
5

= 17.
This is how much the first person gets. Therefore the second gets
2x = 34.
And the third gets
2x − 5 = 29.
The sum of 17, 34, and 29 is in fact 80.
Example 7. Odd numbers. The sum of two consecutive odd numbers is
52. What are the two odd numbers?
Solution. First, an even number is a multiple of 2: 2, 4, 6, 8, and so on. It is
conventional in algebra to represent an even number as 2n, where, by calling
the variable 'n,' it is understood that n will take whole number values: n = 0,
1, 2, 3, 4, and so on.
An odd number is 1 more (or 1 less) than an even number. And so we
represent an odd number as 2n + 1.
Let 2n + 1, then, be the first odd number. Then the next one will be
2 more -- it will be 2n + 3. The problem states that their sum is 52:
2n + 1 + 2n + 3 = 52.
We will now solve that equation for n, and then replace the solution in
2n + 1 to find the first odd number. We have:
4n + 4 = 52
4n = 48
n = 12.
Therefore the first odd number is 2· 12 + 1 = 25. And so the next one
is 27. Their sum is 52.
Problems
Problem 1. Julie has $50, which is eight dollars more than twice what John
has. How much has John? (Compare Example 1.)
 First, what will you let x represent?
To see the answer, pass your mouse over the colored area.
To cover the answer again, click "Refresh" ("Reload").
Do the problem yourself first!
The unknown number -- which is how much that John has.
What is the equation?
2x + 8 = 50.
Here is the solution:
x = $21
Problem 2. Carlotta spent $35 at the market. This was seven dollars less
than three times what she spent at the bookstore; how much did she spend
there?
Here is the equation.
3x − 7 = 35
Here is the solution:
x = $14
Problem 3. There are b black marbles. This is four more than twice the
number of red marbles. How many red marbles are there? (Compare
Example 2.)
Here is the equation.
2x + 4 = b
Here is the solution:
b−4
x= 2

Problem 4. Janet spent $100 on books. This was k dollars less than five
times what she spent on lunch. How much did she spend on lunch?
Here is the equation.
5x − k = 100
 Here is the solution:
100 + k
x= 5
Problem 5. The whole is equal to the sum of the parts.
The sum of two numbers is 99, and one of them is 17 more than the
other. What are the two numbers? (Compare Example 3.)
Here is the equation.

Here is the solution:

x = 41

x + 17 = 58
Problem 6. A class of 50 students is divided into two groups; one group has
eight less than the other; how many are in each group?
Here is the equation.

Here is the solution:

x = 29
x − 8 = 21
Problem 7. The sum of two numbers is 72, and one of them is five times
the other; what are the two numbers?
Here is the equation.
x + 5x = 72.
Here is the solution:
x = 12. 5x = 60.
Problem 8. The sum of three consecutive numbers is 87; what are
they? (Compare Example 4.)
Here is the equation.
 Here is the solution:
28, 29, 30.
Problem 9. A group of 266 persons consists of men, women, and
children. There are four times as many men as children, and twice as many
women as children. How many of each are there?
(What will you let x equal -- the number of men, women, or children?)
Let x = The number of children. Then

4x = The number of men. And

2x = The number of women.

Here is the equation:

x + 4x + 2x = 266
Here is the solution:
x = 38. 4x = 152. 2x = 76.
Problem 10. Divide $79 among three people so that the second will have
three times more than the first, and the third will have two dollars more than
the second. (Compare Example 6.)
Here is the equation.

Here is the solution:

$11, $33, $35.
Problem 11. Divide $15.20 among three people so that the second will have
one dollar more than the first, and the third will have $2.70 more than the
second.
Here is the equation.
 Here is the solution:
$3.50, $4.50, $7.20.
Problem 12. Two consecutive odd numbers are such that three times the
first is 5 more than twice the second. What are those two odd numbers?
(See Example 7, where we represent an odd number as 2n + 1.)
Solution. Let the first odd number be 2n + 1.
Then the next one is 2n + 3 -- because it will be 2 more.
The problem states, that is, the equation is:
3(2n + 1) = 2(2n + 3) + 5.
That implies:
6n + 3 = 4n + 6 + 5.
2n = 8.
n = 4.
Therefore the first odd number is 2· 4 + 1 = 9. The next one is 11
And that is the true solution, because according to the problem:
3· 9 = 2· 11 + 5.
Linda was selling tickets for the school play. She sold 10 more adult tickets than
children tickets and she sold twice as many senior tickets as children tickets.

1. Let x represent the number of children's tickets sold.

2. Write an expression to represent the number of adult tickets sold.
3. Write an expression to represent the number of senior tickets sold.
4. Adult tickets cost $5, children's tickets cost $2, and senior tickets cost $3.
Linda made $700. Write an equation to represent the total ticket sales.
5. How many children's tickets were sold for the play? How many adult
tickets were sold? How many senior tickets were sold?