How many miles did they both walk

Question

Sarah,Semir and SunSo decided to participate in a walkathon to raise additional money for the shelter. Sarah walked 5 less than twice the number of miles Semir walked. They each collected $18 in pledges for every mile they walk how many miles did Semir walk if Sarah got $450 dollars?

Answer 1

This problem requires a careful reading and definition of your variables. Let's call the number of miles that Semir walked = w, and then Sarah's miles walked are 2w-5. For every mile she walked she is paid $18, so the total payment she gets is 18 x (2w-5). We are told that she was paid $450, so we can set up the equation: 18(2w-5) = 450. 

 

Can you distribute the left side and solve for w? When I do, I get w = 15. So now we know that Semir walked 15 miles and Sarah walked (2(15) - 5) miles, or 25 miles. 

 

It's always a good idea to check to see if your answer makes sense. Let's check: 

for Sarah: 

total money = miles x dollars/mile 

450 = 25 x 18 ..... does it check? Yes.