SOLUTIONS TO MATHEMATICS 17 EXERCISES

Word Problems and Variation

2016 September 25
We desire to answer the following problems, by way of (systems of) equations. Here, we give the
relevant equations, and go straight to the answer. (Again, there is more than one way to get to
the answer. As long as we get the correct quantities, were fine.)
1. Amy takes half an hour longer than it takes her mother to walk 5 kilometers. But if Amy
doubles her rate, she would cover the distance in one hour less than her mother. Find the
speed of Amy and her mother.
We let s be Amys speed, and m be the speed of her mother. Then we set up the following equations, making use of the equation d = rt (d = distance, r = rate/speed, t =
time):

5
1
5

=
+

s
m 2

5 = 5 1
2s
m
And we should get the answer, which we state as follows: Amy walks at a speed of

5
kph.
3

Her mother walks at 2 kph.

2. Lisa has a total of P2650 in P50 and P100 bills. If she has a total of 33 bills, how many of
these are P50 bills?
If we let x be the number of P50 bills and y be the number of P100 bills, then the system
(
x+
y = 33
50x + 100y = 2650
can be solved using substitution or addition, to see that we have 13 P50 bills .
3. Hookes Law states that the distance a spring stretches varies directly as the weight of the
string. A weight of 80 pounds stretches a spring 5 inches. How far will a weight of 100 pounds
stretch the spring?
We dont really need a system here; we just have to be reminded of the way we state direct
and inverse variation. Here, if d is the distance a spring is stretched, and w is the weight of
the object, we have d = kw, where k is our constant of variation (or proportionality, or some
1
other term). From d = 5 and k = 80, we get k = , and get the value of d with this value
16
of k and w = 100. Hence, we get the distance to be 6.25 inches .

4. A group of students planned a trip and agreed to contribute equal amounts toward the
transportation cost of P150. Later, five more students decided to join the trip. This reduced
the transportation cost for each student by P1.50. Find the number of students who actually
made the trip and the amount each paid for the transportation.
If x is the orignal number of students who planned the trip (before the five students came
150
pesos each. After the five students came
in), then they shared the P150 by contributing
x
in, the equation is:
150
150
=
1.50
x+5
x
Which we can solve to get x = 20. But we need the number of students who actually made
the trip, so we say 25 students made the trip, and each paid P6.
5. Danielle is the owner of a farm, where she raises chickens and pigs. One day, she did a head
count and a leg count of her stock, and as a result, she counted 68 heads and 176 legs.
How many chickens does she have?
If c is the number of chickens, and p is the number of pigs in Danielles farm, then we
have
(
c + p = 68
2c + 4p = 176
which give us p = 20 and c = 48. Hence, we say there are 48 chickens in Danielles farm.
6. Do there exist three numbers such that their sum is equal to the square of the second number, the second number is 5 less than the third, and the third number is 6 more than the
first? If the numbers exist, find them.
This is quite a literal problem, which can be done by letting x, y, and z be our numbers,
such that

x + y + z = y
y
=z5

z =x+6
And we can solve for x first. Doing so gives us two answers: x1 = 3 and x2 = 2. Hence, we
have two sets of answers: x = 3, y = 4, z = 9 and x = 2, y = 1, z = 4 .
7. Carlo, Clyde, and Marcky working together can do a job in 6 days. Carlo and Marcky can
do the job in 8 days. Clyde and Marcky can do the job in 9 days. Find how long it will take
each guy working alone to do the job.
This is one of the more common types of word problems we encounter. If we let a be Carlos
time to do the job alone, b be Clydes time, and c be Marckys time (all in days!), then using
the work equation W = rt (W = number of tasks, r = rate of doing a task, t = time needed
to do the task), then we get:

 

1 1 1

+ +
=1
6

a b c


1
1
8
+
=1

a
c

1 1

+
=1
9
b c

Which should give us a = 18, b = 24 and c =

6 6 6

+ + =1

a b c

8
8
=
+ =1

a
c

9 9

+ =1
b c
72
. So we say Carlo can do the job in 18 days;
5

72
days. (We can just leave Marckys time like that.
5
Anyway, moral of the story: most stuff are easier to do when we do it with someone. Our
exam is NOT one of those things!)
Clyde, in 24 days; and Marcky, in

8. If z varies directly as y and inversely as the square root of x, by how much should x be
increased so that z is kept constant when y is increased by 10%?
As we did last time, if g is the quantity that should be added to x to preserve the value of
z, then we should get this:
k(1.1x)
ky
=z=
x+g
x
And we can do away with z and solve for g from the two equations on either end, giving us
g = 0.21x. Hence, we say x should be increased by 21% .
9. The volume of a cylinder varies directly as its height and the square of the radius of its base.
Will anything happen to the volume if we quadruple the height of the cylinder, and halve
the radius?
Here, if h is the height of the cylinder, r is its radius, and V is the volume, then we
have V = kr2 h. We want to happen to V when h is replaced by 4h, and r becomes 2r :

2
V = k 2r (4h) = kr2 h. Hence, nothing happens to the volume of our cylinder . (RECALL:
How do we compute for the volume of a cylinder?)
10. Issa, Patty, and Nikki found three pieces of a broken gemstone. Issas piece weighed 15 grams
more than twice the weight of Pattys piece. Nikkis piece weighed 30 grams more than twice
the weight of Issas piece. If Nikkis piece weighs five times Pattys piece, find the weight of
the entire gemstone.
If x is the weight of Issas piece, y is that of Patty, and z is for Nikkis piece, then

x = 2y + 15
z = 2x + 30

z = 5y

This gives us x = 135, y = 60, z = 300. Thus, the gemstones total weight is 495 grams .
11. The value of S varies jointly as x, the square of y, and the cube root of z. If S = 2 when
x = 2, y = 5 and z = 125, find S when x = 1, y = 2, and z = 64.

Here, we have the equation S = kxy 2 3 z. So we should have 2 = k(2)(5)2 3 125 =

1
k =
. To find our desired quantity, we simply substitute into our original equation:
125 

1
16
S=
(1)(22 )( 3 64) =
.
125
125

12. Marian once said, My age is 17 less than twice your age, Jennifer. To which Jennifer responded, Youre right. But see, my age is also 17 less than twice your sister Rizas age!
And Riza answered, Huh, its as if shes way older than me, when shes just three years my
senior! What are the ages of the ladies? (UV2, do you know these people?)
If m is Marians age, j is Jennifers age, and r is Rizas age, we have the following system:

m = 2j 17
j = 2r 17

m=r+3
And we should end up with the values m = 21, j = 19, r = 18. Hence, Marian is 21 years old,
Jennifer is 19, and Riza is 18 .
13. Lena was riding a boat, which goes downstream a distance of 5 miles in 15 minutes. When
she went upstream, it took her 20 minutes to travel the same distance. Find the rate of the
boat in still water and the rate of the current.
Let b is the speed of the boat in still water (in mph), and c is the speed of the current.
When the boat is moving downstream, we mean the boat is moving with the current, and
so their speeds add up. When the boat is moving upstream, the boat moves against the
current, so the boats speed is canceled by the current. Using this info, we come up with

5
1

b + c
4

5 =1
cb
3
(Here, we are working with expressions for time, which can be derived from d = rt.) We can
37
3
solve this to get c =
and b = . Hence, the boat moves in still water at 18.5 mph, and the
2
2
current is moving at 1.5 mph.

14. A cyclist travelled a certain distance at her usual speed. If her speed had been 2 miles per
hour faster, she would have travelled the distance in 1 hour less time. If her speed had been
2 miles per hour slower, she would have taken 2 hours longer. Find the distance travelled
and her usual speed.
Here, we let c be the cyclists speed, and d be the distance she travelled. Then we have
the following equations: (d = rt!)

d
d

= 1

c + 2
c

d = d +2
c2
c
And we should end up saying that the cyclist travelled 24 miles at the speed of 6 mph .
15. The Math Admin office has two photocopying machines. Machine A can reproduce 3000
copies of a one-page file in an hour, while Machine B can copy 3000 copies of the same file in
50 minutes. If both machines are tasked to create 5500 copies of a one-page memorandum,
can they finish the task in an hour?
From the information above, we can see that Machine A can create 50 copies of the file
in 1 minute, and Machine B can create 60 copies in a minute. Hence, both machines can
5500
create 50 + 60 = 110 copies in a minute, and they can finish 5500 copies in
= 50
110
minutes, which is less than an hour. So the answer to our question is yes, it can be done .
16. Fiona was trying to create a potion to ward off her enemies. She added an unspecified amount
of red potion to a 12L mixture of water, green potion, and red potion. If the original mixture
is 50% green potion, 30% red potion and 20% water, and the new mixture is 40% red potion,
find the percentage of green potion in the new mixture.
From our information, Fionas original mixture contains 6L green potion, 3.6L red potion,
and 2.4L water. If we let x be the amount of red potion Fiona added to the original mixture, then we have a (12 + x) L mixture, 40% of which is red potion. Hence, we have
3.6 + x = 0.4(12 + x), which should give us x = 2. Hence, Fiona added 2L of red potion.
17. Clara, Luisa, and Rea are planning to put up a cupcake business. They calculated the cost
of making the nth cupcake, and found out it is directly proportional to 5 more than half
that number. Also, the revenue from selling the nth cupcake is directly proportional to 15
more than twice that number. If cost is equal to revenue when the 30th cupcake is made
and sold, find the ratio between the revenue and cost when the 60th cupcake is sold.
If C is the cost of making
the

 nth cupcake, and R is the revenue of making the nth
n
cupcake, then C = k
+ 5 , and R = k1 (2n + 15). At n = 30, C = R, so we have
2

k( 30
+ 15) = k1 (2(15) + 15) = 30k = 45k1 =
2
Now, we need the ratio

k1
2
= .
k
3

R
at n = 60, so we have
C
!
R
2 135
k1 2(60) + 15
18
=
=
=
60
C
k
3 35
7
+5
2

Hence, we have that answer:

R
18
=
.
C
7

18. Rian and Kristoff agreed to meet at a certain point between the location of their homes,
which are 210 miles apart, at exactly 8:00PM. Rian left her house at 6:20PM, and drove
to their meeting place at a certain speed. Kristoff left his house at 6:50PM, and drove to
the location at a different speed. Kristoff drove 10 mph faster than Rian did, and arrived at
the location 10 minutes earlier than Rian, who arrived at exactly 8:00PM. How far is the
meeting place from Kristoffs and Rians house?
Last one. If r is Rians speed, and k is Kristoffs speed (both in mph), then we have

k = r + 10
5
r + k = 210
3
The first equation relates their speeds, and the second just breaks down the 210 miles as the
sum of the distances traveled by Kristoff and Rian. (Again, d = rt!) So we should have r = 75
mph and k = 85 mph. Thus, their meeting place is 85 miles away from Kristoffs home , and
125 miles from Rians home .
/michaelbay20160925