Question

A ride sharing company offers two options: riding in small cars that can carry up to 3 passengers each, or riding in large vans that can carry up to 6 passengers each. A group of 27 people is going to use the ride sharing service to take a trip. The trip in a small car costs $10 and the trip in a large van costs $15. The group ends up spending $80 total.What do x and y represent?

Answer 1

x = no of people in a small car

y = number of people in a van

Explanation:

The relevant information in the problem is that the total number of people is 27 and that the small car costs $10 and the large van $15.

If we call x the number of people in a small car, and y the number in the large van then the following equations can be obtained

`\begin{gathered} x+y=27 \\ 10x+15y=80 \end{gathered}`

The first equation simply says that the total number of people is 27 and the second equation says that the total cost of the trip is $80.

Hence,

x = no of people in a small car

y = number of people in a van