Question

Four cars and nine pickup trucks lined up bumper to bumper stretch across 135feet of highway. If a pickup truck is two feet longer than a car, how long is each?

Answer 1

Car: 9 feet

Pickup truck: 11 feet

Step-by-step explanation:

Let's call x the lenght of the car and y the length of the pickup trucks

A pickup truck is two feet longer than a car, so

y = x + 2

Additionally, 4 cars and 9 pickup trucks have a length of 135 feet, so

4x + 9y = 135

Now, we can replace the first equation on the second one

4x + 9(x + 2) = 135

Solving for x, we get

4x + 9(x) + 9(2) = 135

4x + 9x + 18 = 135

13x + 18 = 135

13x + 18 - 18 = 135 - 18

13x = 117

13x/13 = 117/13

x = 9

Then, the value of y is

y = x + 2

y = 9 + 2

y = 11

Therefore, the car is 9 feet long and the pickup truck is 11 feet long.