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AlgebraMediumTickets at two prices from a total

Algebra practice question

A school sold adult tickets for $3 and child tickets for $2 for a play. The number of child tickets sold was 5 fewer than the number of adult tickets, and the total collected was $65. How many adult tickets were sold?

Answer: 15

Let a be adult tickets. Then 3a + 2(a − 5) = 65, so 5a − 10 = 65 and a = 15.

Common wrong answers

If you answered 10
10 is the number of CHILD tickets.
If you answered 11
11 comes from 5a + 10 = 65, adding 10 instead of subtracting.
If you answered 13
13 comes from 5a = 65, forgetting the −10.

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