SOLUTION: Your mom and dad took turns driving on a 580 mile road trip that took 10 hours to complete. Your mom drove on average 55mph and your dad drove on average 60mph. How long did each p

Algebra ->  Coordinate Systems and Linear Equations  -> Linear Equations and Systems Word Problems -> SOLUTION: Your mom and dad took turns driving on a 580 mile road trip that took 10 hours to complete. Your mom drove on average 55mph and your dad drove on average 60mph. How long did each p      Log On


   

Question 722809: Your mom and dad took turns driving on a 580 mile road trip that took 10 hours to complete. Your mom drove on average 55mph and your dad drove on average 60mph. How long did each person drive?
I'm having trouble writing the equations. 55x-y=580 & 60y-x=580 were the equations I came up with but they don't seem quite right.
Answer by KMST(5328) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
x= hours mom drove ---> 55x= miles mom drove
y= hours dad drove ---> 60y= miles dad drove
adding up:
x%2By=10 and 55x%2B60y=580
which make up the system
system%28x%2By=10%2C55x%2B60y=580%29

To solve by elimination, we could multiply the first equation times 55 to get
55x%2B55y=550 and subtract it from the other equation to get
5y=30 --> highlight%28y=6%29
which can then be plugged into x%2By=10 to get
x%2B6=10 --> highlight%28x=4%29