Question

On a trip to a lake, Kerrie and Shelly rode their bicycles four more than three times as many miles in the afternoon as in the morning. If the entire trip was 112 miles long, how far did they ride in the morning and how far in the afternoon?

Answer 1

x+3x+4=112
x=27
3(27)+4=85

morning: 27 miles
afternoon: 85 miles

Answer 2

27 miles in the morning and 85 miles in the afternoon.

Step-by-step explanation:

Let m be the number of miles they rode in the morning. They rode 4 more than 3 times this many in the afternoon; this gives us the expression

3m+4

to represent the miles ridden in the afternoon.

Together they rode 112 miles; this means we add the morning miles, m, to the afternoon miles, 3m+4, and get 112:

m+3m+4 = 112

Combine like terms:

4m+4 = 112

Subtract 4 from each side:

4m+4-4= 112-4

4m = 108

Divide both sides by 4:

4m/4 = 108/4

m = 27

They rode 27 miles in the morning.

That means in the afternoon, they rode

3m+4 = 3(27)+4 = 81+4 = 85 miles.