How many students can a van carry? How many students can a bus carry?

Question

The senior classes at High School A and High School B planned separate trips to the county fair. The senior class at High School A rented and filled 10 vans and 2 buses with 232 students. High School B rented and filled 10 vans and 9 buses with 554 students. Every van had the same number of students in it as did the buses. How many students can a van carry? How many students can a bus carry?

We need to find out what x and y represents and the system of equations.

Answer 1

Hi Sasha,

let x = the number on each van

let y = the number on each bus

there are 10 vans and 2 buses for school A carrying 232 students

there are 10 vans and 9 buses for school B carrying 554 students

Our two equations are

10 x + 2 y = 232

10 x + 9 y = 554

using the additive inverse

-7 y = - 322

y = 46

and then x = 14

Each van carries 14 students and each bus carries 46 students.

I hope this helps.