Question

A school arranges for buses and vans to transport 48 students to the school picnic. A bus can accommodate 17 people, and a van can accommodate 9 people. Two teachers are supposed to travel in a bus, and 1 teacher is supposed to travel in a van. How many buses and vans will be required to accommodate all 53 people (students and teachers) with no seat left vacant

Answer 1

Use trial and error here. Draw a table. 5 columns.
1: No. of vans
2: No. of ppl in vans
3: No. of buses
4. No. of ppl in buses
5. Total no. of ppl
Try 1 van, 2 vans, 3 vans etc till you get 53 for column 5.