Word problem

Question

Keith's club had a craft sale.  They made kites, wood sculptures, and puzzles.  They sold 28 items.  The club sold twice as many kites as puzzles, and twice as many puzzles as wood sculptures.  How many of each did the club sell?

Answer 1

Hi Sue, let k represent the number of kites sold, w the number of wold sculptures sold, and p the number of puzzles sold.

 

The total of all crafts sold was 28.

 

Then:

 

k + w + p = 28

 

But, twice as many kites as puzzles were sold, or k = 2p and twice as many puzzles as wood sculptures were sold, or p = 2w.

 

We can substitute for k and w in the total equation to get all variables in terms of p:

 

k + w + p = 28

 

k = 2p

 

p = 2w, w = .5p

 

Gives:

 

2p + .5p + p = 28.

 

Combine terms:

 

3.5p = 28

 

Now all that is necessary is to solve for p. Once p is know, you can find the values for k and w.

 

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