There were a total of 14 bicycles and tricycles in the park. There were 36 wheels in all. How many bicycles and how many tricycles were there?

Answer 1

This looks like it needs a system of equations.

Let's use B for Bicycle and T for Tricycle.

First equation, how many "vehicles" we have. This equation will be:

B+T=14

Then we need an equation for how many wheels we have (2 per bike, 3 per trike). That equation can be.

2B+ 3T=36

The easiest way to do this is elimination. Start by multiplying the entire first equation by 2 (don't forget to do it on both sides of the equals sign.

2(B+T)= 14x2

2B+2T=28.

Subtract this from your original equation

2B+3T-36 MINUS 2B+2T=28

2B-2B=0 B's cancel out.

3T-2T= T one T left.

36-28=8

T=8 is left.

So there are 8 tricycles.

If there are 14 total "vehicles" there are 6 bikes.

Answer 2

B+T = 14

multiply both sides by 2

2B + 3T = 36

2B +2T =28

subtract to get

3T-2T = 36-28

T = 8 tricycles

B =14-8 = 6 bicycles