Write an equation from a story

Question

Bernadette and Michael went to watch the new Batman movie. They bought popcorn and drinks to enjoy during the movie. Bernadette had a $15 gift card to put toward the total cost, and Michael paid the rest, which was $9. If the popcorn cost $8 each, how much did each drink cost?

Answer 1

Hi Christie,

Let's use the variable, x , to represent the cost of one drink.

They bought two of the same drink which could be represented by 2x .

Accounting for the popcorn, the total purchased would be represented by 2x + $8

The total amount of money spent would be $15 for the gift card and $9 by Michael or $24

The following equation could be created and solved using inverse operations to find the cost of 1 drink:

2x + 8 = $24

2x + 8 - 8 = 24 - 8

2x = 16

2x/2 = 16/2

x = $8

Each drink cost $8.