algebra one, word equation

Question

The number of girls in Mr. Taylors algebra class exceeded the number of boys by 5. If there were 39 pupils in the class, how many were girls.

Answer 1

Here's the way to figure it out.

G + B = 39 and we're told that the number of girls is 5 more than the number of boys (G = B + 5)

So we can substitute and eliminate one of the variables.

(B + 5) + B = 39

2B = 34, so B = 17 and G = 22

Answer 2

Let's use a system of equations to solve the problem:

Let's call the number of boys in Mr. Taylor's algebra class "x". The number of girls in the class is "x + 5" (because the number of girls exceeds the number of boys by 5). The total number of pupils in the class is 39, so we can write the equation:

x + (x + 5) = 39

Simplifying this equation, we get:

2x + 5 = 39

Subtracting 5 from both sides, we get:

2x = 34

Dividing both sides by 2, we get:

x = 17

So there were 17 boys in Mr. Taylor's algebra class.

To find the number of girls, we can substitute x = 17 into the expression we came up with earlier:

x + 5 = 17 + 5 = 22

So there were 22 girls in Mr. Taylor's algebra class.

Therefore, the answer is: there were 22 girls in Mr. Taylor's algebra class.

Answer 3

Hello Hanna,

The answer to this problem is that there are 22 girls and 17 boys.

22+17=39

22-17=5