Step by step
The question
Question: Adult tickets cost $11 and child tickets cost $7.
Ella spends $95.
Write the equation.
1 Find what we know
What do we know?
Adult tickets cost $11 each.
Child tickets cost $7 each.
Ella spends $95 in all.
What do we want?
An equation for this story.
2 Name the unknowns
We don't know how many adult tickets.
We call that number x.
We don't know how many child tickets either.
It is a different number, so it gets its own letter: y.
3 Write the equation
One adult ticket costs $11.
So x adult tickets cost 11 times x: 11x.
One child ticket costs $7.
So y child tickets cost 7 times y: 7y.
In words: the adult ticket money plus the child ticket money makes all the money.
So the equation is 11x + 7y = 95.
Careful!
x + y counts the adult tickets and child tickets, not the money.
The money is 11x + 7y.
4 Check
Let's test the equation with one buy that costs $95.
We try 1 adult ticket first.
1 adult ticket costs $11.
$84 is left.
84 divided by 7 is 12: 12 child tickets.
Put x = 1 and y = 12 in: 11 plus 84 is 95.
The equation works!
Let's look back.
First: find what we know.
Then: name the unknowns.
Then: write the equation.
Last: check.