Question

Equation word problems

Answer 1

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Answer 2

For this problem, you'd want to make a system of equations. What you know about the problem is the total amount of time Suzette was moving, and the total amount of distance she traveled.
If 'x' is the time spent running, and 'y' is the time spent biking, you can represent the total time as
x + y = 3.5, since the total time is 3.5 hours
Likewise, you can represent the total distance as
6x + 12.5y = 34, based on the average speed for each mode of travel.

Answer 3

Now, to go about solving the system of equations, first you'd try to get either x or y alone.
For example, in the first equation, you could subtract y from both sides to get
x = 3.5 - y.
Then, in the second equation, substitute x for (3.5 - y), since you've found that x does, in fact, equal (3.5 - y)
You should get 6(3.5 - y) + 12.5y = 34
Then, you can solve for y. Last, you'd use the value of y to solve for x.