Question

Write a system of equations to describe the situation below, solve using any method, and fill in the blanks. The volleyball team and the wrestling team at Newberry High School are having a joint car wash today, and they are splitting the revenues. The volleyball team gets $4 per car. In addition, they have already brought in $24 from past fundraisers. The wrestling team has raised $84 in the past, and they are making $1 per car today. After washing a certain number of cars together, each team will have raised the same amount in total. What will that total be? How many cars will that take?

Answer 1

Answer: After washing 20 cars together, each team will have raised the same amount in total.

Explanation:

Let x represent the number of cars that each each teams will wash for them to raise the same amount in total.

The volleyball team gets $4 per car. In addition, they have already brought in $24 from past fundraisers. This means that the total amount raised by the volleyball team after washing x cars would be

4x + 24

The wrestling team has raised $84 in the past, and they are making $1 per car today. This means that the total amount raised by the wrestling team after washing x cars would be

x + 84

For both amounts to be equal, the number of cars would be

4x + 24 = x + 84

4x - x = 84 - 24

3x = 60

x = 60/3

x = 20