5.5 Solve Mixture Applications with Systems of Equations

Before you get started, take this readiness quiz.

Multiply $4.025 (\text{1},\text{562}).$
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Write 8.2% as a decimal.
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Earl’s dinner bill came to $32.50 and he wanted to leave an 18% tip. How much should the tip be?
If you missed this problem, review the reference.

Translate to a system of equations and solve:

The ticket office at the zoo sold 553 tickets one day. The receipts totaled $3,936. How many $9 adult tickets and how many $6 child tickets were sold?

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A science center sold 1,363 tickets on a busy weekend. The receipts totaled $12,146. How many $12 adult tickets and how many $7 child tickets were sold?

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Matilda has a handful of quarters and dimes, with a total value of $8.55. The number of quarters is 3 more than twice the number of dimes. How many dimes and how many quarters does she have?

Translate to a system of equations and solve:

Juan has a pocketful of nickels and dimes. The total value of the coins is $8.10. The number of dimes is 9 less than twice the number of nickels. How many nickels and how many dimes does Juan have?

Translate to a system of equations and solve:

Greta wants to make 5 pounds of a nut mix using peanuts and cashews. Her budget requires the mixture to cost her $6 per pound. Peanuts are $4 per pound and cashews are $9 per pound. How many pounds of peanuts and how many pounds of cashews should she use?

Translate to a system of equations and solve:

Sammy has most of the ingredients he needs to make a large batch of chili. The only items he lacks are beans and ground beef. He needs a total of 20 pounds combined of beans and ground beef and has a budget of $3 per pound. The price of beans is $1 per pound and the price of ground beef is $5 per pound. How many pounds of beans and how many pounds of g…

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LeBron needs 150 milliliters of a 30% solution of sulfuric acid for a lab experiment but only has access to a 25% and a 50% solution. How much of the 25% and how much of the 50% solution should he mix to make the 30% solution?

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Anatole needs to make 250 milliliters of a 25% solution of hydrochloric acid for a lab experiment. The lab only has a 10% solution and a 40% solution in the storeroom. How much of the 10% and how much of the 40% solutions should he mix to make the 25% solution?

Translate to a system of equations and solve:

Leon had $50,000 to invest and hopes to earn 6.2 % interest per year. He will put some of the money into a stock fund that earns 7% per year and the rest in to a savings account that earns 2% per year. How much money should he put into each fund?

Translate to a system of equations and solve:

Julius invested $7,000 into two stock investments. One stock paid 11% interest and the other stock paid 13% interest. He earned 12.5% interest on the total investment. How much money did he put in each stock?

Translate to a system of equations and solve:

Laura owes $18,000 on her student loans. The interest rate on the bank loan is 2.5% and the interest rate on the federal loan is 6.9 %. The total amount of interest she paid last year was $1,066. What was the principal for each loan?

Translate to a system of equations and solve:

Jill’s Sandwich Shoppe owes $65,200 on two business loans, one at 4.5% interest and the other at 7.2% interest. The total amount of interest owed last year was $3,582. What was the principal for each loan?

Translate to a system of equations and solve.

Tickets to a Broadway show cost $35 for adults and $15 for children. The total receipts for 1650 tickets at one performance were $47,150. How many adult and how many child tickets were sold?

Translate to a system of equations and solve.

Tickets for a train cost $10 for children and $22 for adults. Josie paid $1,200 for a total of 72 tickets. How many children’s tickets and how many adult tickets did Josie buy?

Translate to a system of equations and solve.

Tickets for a dance recital cost $15 for adults and $7 for children. The dance company sold 253 tickets and the total receipts were $2,771. How many adult tickets and how many child tickets were sold?

Translate to a system of equations and solve.

Brandon has a cup of quarters and dimes with a total value of $3.80. The number of quarters is four less than twice the number of dimes. How many quarters and how many dimes does Brandon have?

Translate to a system of equations and solve.

Peter has been saving his loose change for several days. When he counted his quarters and dimes, he found they had a total value $13.10. The number of quarters was fifteen more than three times the number of dimes. How many quarters and how many dimes did Peter have?

Translate to a system of equations and solve.

A cashier has 30 bills, all of which are $10 or $20 bills. The total value of the money is $460. How many of each type of bill does the cashier have?

Translate to a system of equations and solve.

Marissa wants to blend candy selling for $1.80 per pound with candy costing $1.20 per pound to get a mixture that costs her $1.40 per pound to make. She wants to make 90 pounds of the candy blend. How many pounds of each type of candy should she use?

Translate to a system of equations and solve.

Hannah has to make twenty-five gallons of punch for a potluck. The punch is made of soda and fruit drink. The cost of the soda is $1.79 per gallon and the cost of the fruit drink is $2.49 per gallon. Hannah’s budget requires that the punch cost $2.21 per gallon. How many gallons of soda and how many gallons of fruit drink does she need?

Translate to a system of equations and solve.

Julia and her husband own a coffee shop. They experimented with mixing a City Roast Columbian coffee that cost $7.80 per pound with French Roast Columbian coffee that cost $8.10 per pound to make a 20 pound blend. Their blend should cost them $7.92 per pound. How much of each type of coffee should they buy?

Translate to a system of equations and solve.

Jotham needs 70 liters of a 50% alcohol solution. He has a 30% and an 80% solution available. How many liters of the 30% and how many liters of the 80% solutions should he mix to make the 50% solution?

Translate to a system of equations and solve.

A scientist needs 65 liters of a 15% alcohol solution. She has available a 25% and a 12% solution. How many liters of the 25% and how many liters of the 12% solutions should she mix to make the 15% solution?

Translate to a system of equations and solve.

A 40% antifreeze solution is to be mixed with a 70% antifreeze solution to get 240 liters of a 50% solution. How many liters of the 40% and how many liters of the 70% solutions will be used?

Translate to a system of equations and solve.

Hattie had $3,000 to invest and wants to earn 10.6% interest per year. She will put some of the money into an account that earns 12% per year and the rest into an account that earns 10% per year. How much money should she put into each account?

Translate to a system of equations and solve.

Sam invested $48,000, some at 6% interest and the rest at 10%. How much did he invest at each rate if he received $4,000 in interest in one year?

Translate to a system of equations and solve.

After four years in college, Josie owes $65,800 in student loans. The interest rate on the federal loans is 4.5% and the rate on the private bank loans is 2%. The total interest she owed for one year was $2,878.50. What is the amount of each loan?

Translate to a system of equations and solve.

A trust fund worth $25,000 is invested in two different portfolios. This year, one portfolio is expected to earn 5.25% interest and the other is expected to earn 4%. Plans are for the total interest on the fund to be $1150 in one year. How much money should be invested at each rate?

Translate to a system of equations and solve.

Laurie was completing the treasurer’s report for her son’s Boy Scout troop at the end of the school year. She didn’t remember how many boys had paid the $15 full-year registration fee and how many had paid the $10 partial-year fee. She knew that the number of boys who paid for a full-year was ten more than the number who paid for a partial-year. If $25…

Take a handful of two types of coins, and write a problem similar to the example relating the total number of coins and their total value. Set up a system of equations to describe your situation and then solve it.