Final answer:
To find the number of adult tickets sold, substitute the value of b into the equation 10.50a + 3.75(82) = 2071.50 and solve for a. The value of a is 168, so 168 adult tickets were sold.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the number of adult tickets sold, we can use the given equation: 10.50a + 3.75b = 2071.50, where a is the number of adult tickets sold and b is the number of student tickets sold. We are given that 82 students attended, so we need to solve for a. Substitute the value of b into the equation and solve for a: 10.50a + 3.75(82) = 2071.50. Simplify the equation to find the value of a: 10.50a + 307.5 = 2071.50. Subtract 307.5 from both sides: 10.50a = 1764. Substitute 1764 into the equation, divide both sides by 10.50, and solve for a: a = 168. Therefore, 168 adult tickets were sold.