Solving Applications With Systems of Equations

Introduction

Previously in this tutorial we solved several applications with systems of linear equations. In this section, we’ll look at some specific types of applications that relate two quantities. We’ll translate the words into linear equations, decide which is the most convenient method to use, and then solve them.

We will use our Problem Solving Strategy for Systems of Linear Equations.

Use a problem solving strategy for systems of linear equations.

  1. Read the problem. Make sure all the words and ideas are understood.
  2. Identify what we are looking for.
  3. Name what we are looking for. Choose variables to represent those quantities.
  4. Translate into a system of equations.
  5. Solve the system of equations using good algebra techniques.
  6. Check the answer in the problem and make sure it makes sense.
  7. Answer the question with a complete sentence.

This lesson is part of:

Systems of Linear Equations I

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