Solving Linear Systems by Linear Combinations – Challenge Level Problems

In Exercises 1 – 3, assume that a and b are nonzero constants and solve the
system.

1. 3ax + 3by = b 2. ax + by = 3 3. bx + ay = 0
ax – by = 3b bx – ay = 0 -ax + by = 6

In Exercises 4 - 5, use linear combinations to solve the system of equations.

⎛1 ⎞ ⎛1⎞
Example: −5 ⎜ ⎟ + 2 ⎜ ⎟ = −3
⎝x ⎠ ⎝y ⎠
⎛1⎞ ⎛1⎞
5 ⎜ ⎟ + 3 ⎜ ⎟ = 33
⎝x ⎠ ⎝y ⎠
1 1
Solution: Let u = and v = . Substituting, the system becomes
x y
-5u + 2v = -3
5u + 3v = 33
1 1
By adding, you get v = 6, u = 3. Therefore 3 = and 6 = , or
x y
1 1
x= and y = .
3 6
⎛
4. 4 ⎜ 1 −
1⎞ 5. 3x = y3 – 6
⎟ − 3y = 11
⎝ x⎠ 8x = y3 + 29
⎛ 1⎞
10 ⎜ 1 − ⎟ − 3y = 14
⎝ x⎠

In Exercises 6 - 11, use linear combinations to solve the system of equations for
x and y in terms of the other variables.

6. 5ax + 3y = 5 7. 3x + 6y = 9a
2ax + 3y = 11 5x - 6y = 7a

8. 4x + ay = 7 9. x + by = 8
-2x + ay = -11 4x + 3by = 22

10. -ax + 2y = 5 11. ax – 3by = 12

4ax - 11y = -8 2ax - by = 19

12. Escalation

On one of the escalators on the Paris Metro, Harriet finds that if she walks down
26 steps she needs 30 seconds to get to the bottom, but if on another trip she
makes 34 steps, then she needs only 18 seconds to reach the bottom.

a. If the time is measured from the instant that the top step begins to descend
until the time Harriet steps off the last step at the bottom onto the level
platform, what is the height of the stairway in steps?
 b. How many seconds does it take the escalator to travel one step?

13. Gumballs Galore!

It is a little-known fact, but I've heard it said that Tweedledum and Tweedledee,
the two jolly fellows who appear in the timeless tale Alice in Wonderland, were
fanatics for chewing gum. Yes, indeed, and not just any kind of chewing gum, but
the gum that comes in those spherical selling devices found all over the place:
gumballs.

One day when these two chaps were downtown shopping, Tweedledee ambled over
to a particularly enticing gumball machine, while his brother shuffled off in a
different direction. Tweedledee promptly got out his money purse and began
putting his coins in the machine, buying gumball after gumball after gumball.

Eventually, Tweedledum caught sight of what was going on, so he scurried right
over to the machine. He took out his money bag and began buying some gumballs as
well. Being the congenial fellows they were, the two took turns from that point on.
First, Tweedledum, then Tweedledee, and so on until all the gumballs had been
removed from the machine.

Later on at home they counted their treasures and found that the machine had
contained a grand total of fifty-five gumballs. Then Tweedledee exclaimed, "Gee,
thirteen times your number exceeds eight times my number by one."

Tweedledum snorted, "But of course you still have more than I. You found the
machine before I arrived."

"Sorry, brother," responded the former. "Better luck next time!"

How many more delicious gumballs did Tweedledee buy than his less fortunate
brother?

14. My Three Dogs

My neighbor has three pets in his home, all dogs. Fifi is the little French poodle.
The name of my neighbor's big St. Bernard is Maxx. And Sparky, the medium-
sized dog, is, well, let's just say he is of no particular breed.

Last week my neighbor took his beloved pets to the vet for their annual health
check-ups and shots. The doctor weighed them as part of the examination. Upon
returning home, my friend told me the animals' weights in an unusual way. He said:

• "Together Fifi and Maxx weigh 72 pounds."

• "Maxx and Sparky have a combined weight of 86 pounds."
• "Lastly, the sum of Sparky's and Fifi's weights is 35 pounds."

Tell me now how much each dog weighs, individually.

15. Studying the Standings

I was reading the sports section the other day when I noticed an article about the
World Tiddlywinks League. Having never heard of it, I looked at the standings in
the Cambridge division and saw this:

Team Wins Loses Ties Points

Squidgers 10 4 10 82
Nurdlers 12 8 4 68
Potters 6 8 10
Squoppers 8 12 4 36

Unfortunately the paper was torn and I could not see the points total for the
Potters. But I assumed that each win, loss, and tie contributes a certain number of
points toward the team's total points. Since I had some time and was curious, I
used my algebra skills and figured out how many points the Potters have scored
this season.

How many points do you think they have?

16. The Three Jelly Bean Jars

In my favorite shopping mall downtown there is a specialty shop that's bound to

please anybody's sweet tooth. It's a candy store called Candylandia. In this store
you can find just about any kind of candy your tastebuds would savor.

One favorite and traditional candy is the jellybean. Candylandia sells jellybeans in
three different-sized jars: small, medium, and large. The owner, who loves fairy
tales too, calls them the Baby Bean jar, the Mama Bean jar, and the Papa Bean jar,
respectively.

Strange as it may seem, each jar of a given size always contains the same number
of jellybeans as any other jar of that size.

One day, Mrs. Goldie Lochs brought her 9-year-old set of triplets, who had a big
craving for jellybeans, into the store. Each child (Allen, Bradley, and Charles)
bought two different jars of beans, but none of the combinations were the same.
At home, the children decided to count the number of beans that they had
purchased.

Allen announced, avidly, "I have 157 jellybeans!"

Bradley boasted boldly, "But I have 47 more than you do, so there!"

Charles chimed in, calmly, "Well, I have 112 less than you two guys have together,
but I'm not complaining."

Using this unusual collection of information, please tell me how many jellybeans are
placed in each jar.
17. Choosing Charity

In the wake of the recent tsunami, a company decided to donate to

a disaster relief fund. The company started by pledging a certain
amount of money. To encourage their 60 employees to make
individual contributions, the company pledged to also donate an
additional fixed amount for each employee who made a personal
donation to the fund.

The company treasurer determined that if one-third of the employees chose to

make a donation, the company's part of the total donation would be $7000. If 50%
of the employees donated, the company's part of the total donation would be
$7750.

a. If every employee chose to donate, what would the company's part of the total
donation be?

b. If the company's part was $8875, what percent of the employees chose to
make personal donations?

c. Find an equation that expresses the company's part of the total donation in
terms of the number of employees who donate.

18. Scroboscopi. On each day of its life a scroboscopus squares its number of legs. For
example, if scroboscopus has 2 legs on its first day of line, it would have 4 legs on
its second day, and 16 legs on its third day. Tom bought some newborn scroboscopi.
Some had 2 legs, some had 3 legs, and some had 5 legs. The total leg count was 58
legs. The next day the leg count was 164. The following day, the leg count was
1976. How many scroboscopi did Tom buy?
Solving Linear Systems by Linear Combinations – Solutions

1. ⎛ 5b 4⎞ 2. ⎛ 3a 3b ⎞ 3. ⎛ 6a 6b ⎞
⎜ ,− ⎟ ⎜ 2 , 2 2 ⎟ ⎜− 2 , 2 2 ⎟
⎝ 3a 3 ⎠ ⎝a +b a +b ⎠ ⎝ a +b a +b ⎠
2 2

4. (2, -3) 5. (7, 3)

6. ⎛ 2 ⎞ 7. ⎛ a⎞
⎜ − , 5⎟ ⎜ 2a , ⎟
⎝ a ⎠ ⎝ 2⎠

8. ⎛ 5⎞ 9. ⎛ 10 ⎞
⎜ 3, − ⎟ ⎜ −2, ⎟
⎝ a⎠ ⎝ b⎠

10. ⎛ 13 ⎞ 11. ⎛ 9 1⎞
⎜ − , −4 ⎟ ⎜ ,− ⎟
⎝ a ⎠ ⎝a b ⎠

12. a. Let n be the number of steps and x be the seconds per step for escalator

In 30 seconds, the escalator covers 30/x steps.

Thus Harriet only covers (n - 30/x) steps, which we know is 26.

In 18 seconds, the escalator covers 18/x steps. Thus Harriet only covers
(n - 18/x) steps, which we know is 34.

Thus we have

n - 18/x = 34 (1)
n - 30/x = 26 (2)

(1)-(2) 12/x = 8
x = 3/2

subst into (1)

n - 18*2/3 = 34
n = 46

b. Checking
In 18 secs, escalator covers 12 steps, Harriet has to cover 46 – 12 = 34
In 30 secs, escalator covers 20 steps, Harriet has to cover 46 – 20 = 26
Therefore correct.

Escalator is 46 steps high and 1.5 secs for each step.

13. I designated x as Tweedledum (the less fortunate one) and y as Tweedledee (the
more fortunate one).

We know that the grand total is 55, so x + y = 55.

We also know that 13 times Dum's number is one more than 8 times Dee's number.
Therefore, 13x = 8y + 1.
 Next, we must add the equations. In order to do that, we must put them in the
same form.

13x = 8y + 1
13x - 8y = 1
Now we add them.
x + y = 55
13x - 8y = 1
However, we want to add them so that one of the variables cancels out.
I chose y to cancel out. I had to multiply the entire top equation by
8. 8(x + y) = 8(55)
8x + 8y = 440
Now we can finally add the equations.
8x + 8y = 440
13x − 8y = 1
21x = 441
Now simply divide both sides by 21.
(21x ) = 441
21 21
x = 21
Now we know that Tweedledum, the less fortunate one, got 21 gumballs. To find
how many gumballs Tweedledee got, we must subtract 21 from 55. This gives us 34.
To find the difference between the two numbers, we subtract 21 from 34. This
results in 13. So Tweedledee had 13 more gumballs than Tweedledum.

14. Let F = Fifi's weight in pounds

Let M = Maxx's weight in pounds
Let S = Sparky's weight in pounds

From the information given, we can conclude:

F + M = 72
M + S = 86
S + F = 35
We can add two equations to find a variable. In this example I chose to add
(S + F), which is 35, to (F + M), which is 72.

(F + M) + (S + F) = 72 + 35
F +M+S+F = 107 (We take out the parentheses)
2F + M + S = 107 (We add the variables)

In this point I saw that (M + S) was in the equation.

2F + (M + S) = 107 (We put it in parentheses to represent M + S = 86)

2F + 86 = 107
2F = 107 - 86 (Subtract 86 from both sides)
2F = 21
F = 10.5 (Divide both sides by 2)
 Now I can substitute F in (F + M) to find M and (S + F) to find S

10.5 + M = 72
M = 72 - 10.5
M = 61.5

10.5 + S = 35
S = 35 - 10.5
S = 24.5

That gave me the solution: Fifi weighs 10.5 pounds, Maxx weighs 61.5 pounds and
Sparky weighs 24.5 pounds.

15. Let W = points per win

Let L = points per loss
Let T = points per tie

therefore
Squidgers: 10W + 4L + 10T = 82.....................(1)
Nurdlers: 12W + 8L + 4T = 68.....................(2)
Squoppers: 8W + 12L + 4T = 36.....................(3)
Potters: 6W + 8L + 10T = ?

I will start by subtracting equation(3) from equation(2).

8W + 12L + 4T = 36
−(12W + 8L + 4T = 68)
−4W + 4L = −32
divide by -4
W-L=8

add L to both sides

W = 8 + L......................(4)
multiply equation(1) by 2
2(10W) + 2(4L) + 2(10T) = 2(82)
20W + 8L + 20T = 164....................(1')

multiply equation (2) by 5

5(12W + 8L + 4T) = 5(68)
60W + 40L + 20T = 340....................(2')

Now I will subtract equation(1') from (2')

60W + 40L + 20T = 340
−(20W + 8L + 20T = 164)
40W + 32L = 176
divide by 8
5W + 4L = 22......................(5)
 Now I will substitute equation(4) in equation (5)

5W + 4L = 22
5(8 + L) + 4L = 22
5L + 4L = 22 - 40
9L = -18
L = -2.........There is a 2 point penalty for losing a game.

put this value into equation (4)

W = 8 + (-2)
W = 6.........You earn 6 points if you win a game.

Substitute values for L and W (above) into equation (3), then solve for T.
8(6) + 12(-2) + 4T = 36
48 - 24 + 4T = 36
4T = 36 - 24
4T = 12
T = 3..........You earn 3 points for a tie game.

Since we have all 3 variables, now we can substitute them into the original Potters
expression.

6W + 8L + 10T
6(6) + 8(-2) + 10(3)
36 - 16 + 30
66 - 16
50

The Potters team won a total of 50 points.

16. We can start off the problem by giving variables to represent the number of jelly
beans in each jar.

Baby Bean jar = X

Mama Bean jar = Y
Papa Bean jar = Z

Now, to figure out what two jars each child grabbed, we have to use some basic
logic. Since each child grabbed two different jars, there are only three possible
combinations: (X + Y), (X + Z), and (Y + Z). We know that (X + Y) is the smallest,
(X + Z) is bigger than that, and (Y + Z) is the largest jar. Now, to figure out what
child gets what equation, we need to figure out how many beans each child has.

The problem already stated that Allen has 157 jelly beans. Since Bradley has 47
more jelly beans than Allen, we can add 157 + 47 to find that Bradley has 204 jelly
beans. Finally, Charles has 112 jelly beans less than Allen and Bradley's combined
total. To figure out how many jelly beans Chuck has, we add 157 + 204 to get 361
and then subtract 112 from that to discover that Old Chuck has 249 jelly beans.

In deciding what child gets what equation, we go from smallest to largest.

 Since Allen had the least amount of jelly beans, he gets (X + Y).
Bradley's the next biggest from there, so he becomes (X + Z),
Finally, Charles has the most so he gets to be (Y + Z).

This means that each respective equation for each child is:
Allen: X + Y = 157
Bradley: X + Z = 204
Charles: Y + Z = 249

The next step in the problem is to add all three of the equations together to come
up with a combined equation.

(X + Y) + (X + Z) + (Y + Z) = 157 + 204 + 249 comes out to be:

2X + 2Y + 2Z = 610

We can divide through both sides of the equation by 2 to get:

X + Y + Z = 305

From here, by subtracting each child's equation from the new combined equation,
we can figure out each jar's respective size.

Allen:
X + Y + Z = 305
- (X + Y ) = 157
Z = 148

Bradley:
X + Y + Z = 305
- (X + Z) = 157
Y = 101

Lucky Chucky:
X + Y + Z = 305
- (Y + Z) = 249
X = 56

X = 56
Y = 101
Z = 148

Therefore the Baby Bean Jar contains 56 jelly beans, the Mama Bean Jar contains
101 beans, and the Papa bean jar contains 148 jelly beans.

17. a. The company donates a certain amount of money if all of it's employees donate.
Let x = the fixed part of that donation (D).
Let y = the additional amount of money donated if all 60 employees give.
Therefore:

When 1/2 of the employees donate you get: x + y/2 = $7750

When 1/3 of the employees donate you get: x + y/3 = $7000

If you subtract the 2nd equation from the first to eliminate x you get:
x + y/2 = $7750
 - x + y/3 = $7000
----------------
y/6 = $750
y = $4500

Knowing y = $4500, you can substitute back: x + y/2 = $7750

x + $2250 = $7750
x = $5500
Now, you have solved for x and y.

If all of the employees donate then: x + y = $4500 + $5500

x + y = $10,000

b. Now, if the company donated $8875, then you can first subtract the fixed
amount x from the total. So:
$8875 - $5500 = $3375

Then you can divide the remaining portion by the amount that would have been
donated if all employees had given. So:
$3375/$4500 = 3/4 = 75%

Therefore:
75% of the company's employees have donated.

c. Now we need to find an equation which expresses the company's part in terms
of the number of employees who donate. We know that the amount that the
company donates is a fixed amount x = $5500 plus a variable amount y, which
equals $4500 if 60/60 employees donate. So if a different number (n) of
employees donate, then the variable part would be equal to $4500 x n/60.
Therefore:
D = $5500 + ($4500 * n/60)
D = $5500 + ($4500/60 * n)
D = $5500 + $75n

Thus, the total amount donated is equal to the fixed portion x, which equals
$5500, plus a variable amount dependent on the number of employees who
donate, which equals $75n, where n equals the number of employees who
actually donate.

18. Scroboscopi. Twenty-three scroboscopi. One solution can be obtained by setting up

three equations. Let a represent the number with 2 legs, b the number with 3 legs,
and c the number with 5 legs. Then 58 = 2a + 3b + 5c; 164 = 4a + 9b + 25c; 1976 =
16a + 81b + 625c. The solution is a = 15, b = 6, c = 2.
 Bibliography Information

Teachers attempted to cite the sources for the problems included in this problem set.
In some cases, sources were not known. The order reflects the frequency of usage.

Problems Bibliography Information

Unified Mathematics Book 1

(Hardcover) ~ Gerald R. Rising
(Author), William T. Bailey (Author),
1-3 David A. Blaeuer (Author), Robert C.
Frascatore (Author), Virginia Partridge
(Author) Boston, 1991, Houghton
Mifflin Company

Larson, Ron, Laurie Boswell, Timothy D.

Kanold, and Lee Stiff. Algebra 1
4-11
Concepts and Skills. Evanston: McDougal
Littell, 2001. Print.

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