231 students went on a Math club field trip.Some rode in vans which hold 7 students some rode in buses which hold 25 students.How many of each vehicles did they use if there were 15 total

Answer 1

Michael is absolutely right. That's the way you're expected to solve this problem.

But if you're more of a concrete thinker, consider making a table. We'll start the table with, say, everybody in a van and see how many students that transports, then gradually add a bus each line.

Sometimes, this takes less time, but often it takes more

v | 15 | 14 | 13 |

b | 0 | 1 | 2 |

total | 105 | 123 | 141 |

Continue until you reach a total of 231 students

You might notice the pattern in the total line. If you do, that can help you finish this faster.

Answer 2

let v = the number of vans, and b = the number of buses

One equation would be:

v + b = 15

The other equation would be:

7v + 25b = 231

Solve this system using either the Elimination or Substitution Method