Question

in a given amount of time, James drove twice as far as Rachel. Altogether they drove 120 miles. Write an equation to help find the number of miles driven by each. Use R as the variable to represent miles driven by Rachel and J for James’ miles.

Answer 1

This can be solved with a simple system of equations. From the information given, we can see that 2R = J, and R + J = 120. We can sub in the 2R for J in the second equation, giving us 2R + R = 120, or 3R = 120. 120/3 =40, so Rachel drove 40 miles. 40 x 2 = 80, and 80 + 40 = 120, so it all adds up. James drove 80 miles, and Rachel drove 40.