Variables, Equation, Solve

Question

I'm not sure how to get the answer. I have tried and nothing I do seems to work. I am doing something wrong. I know it's probably simple, but here it goes:

Over two days Kevin drove 934 miles to attend a wedding. He drove 172

more miles the second day than the first day. How far did he drive each​ day?

Answer 1

We can approach this word problem by building two equations from it.

Equation 1: miles traveled in day 1(d1) + miles traveled in day 2(d2) = total miles traveled

Equation 2: d1+ 172 miles = d2

Now we know some of the information in these equations so lets substitute it in

d1 + d2 = 934

d1 + 172 = d2

Next we need to have Equation 1 have d1 as its only variable. We accomplish this by substituting d2 with the Equation 2

d1 + ( d1 +172 ) = 934

Lastly we need to combine like terms and solve

d1 + d1 = 2(d1) therefore

2(d1) + 172 = 934

we subtract 172 from both sides

2(d1) + 172 - 172 = 934 - 172 therfore

2(d1) = 762

and divide both side by 2

2(d1) / 2 = 762 / 2

d1 = 381

Finally we have our answer

miles traveled in day 1 = 381

miles traveled in day 2 = 381 + 172 = 553

Answer 2

Let the distance Kevin drove on the first day be represented by A.

On the second day, Kevin drove 172 more miles than he did on the first day. Day 2 = A + 172

The total miles over the 2 days = 934 miles.

A + (A + 172) = 934

2A + 172 = 934

2A = 934 - 172

2A = 762

A = 762/2

Answer 3

Hi Elizabeth, this should help!

Miles drive first day: x

Miles driven on second day: x + 172

In total, these should add to 934.

x + (x +172) = 934

Combine like terms

2x + 172 = 934

Subtract 172 from both sides

2x = 762

Divide both sides by 2

x = 381

So he drove 381 miles on the first day and 381+ 172 = 553 miles on the second day.