Inequalities: Word Problem Solving Strategies
Read through the entire problem.
Highlight the important information and key words that you need to solve
the problem.
Identify your variables.
Write the equation or inequality.
Solve.
Write your answer in a complete sentence.
Check or justify your answer.
In class, we used the following website:
http://www.algebra-class.com/solving-word-problems-in-algebra.html
Feel free to return to the site for support and examples!
Homework problems. Follow the steps in the box above for each problem. Some problems may have
more than one question. Make sure you clearly answer all questions asked and show your work clearly.
Make a graph for each question.
1. Your test grades are 78%, 72%, 87%, and 90%. What score on the fifth quiz will make your
average quiz grade at least 85%?
2. You rent a Scooter from Twist and Scoot. You are offered 2 payment options. You can pay $25 a
day plus 15¢ a mile (option A) or you can pay $10 a day plus 40¢ a mile (option B). Is one plan
better than the other? What factors must you take into account. For what amount of daily miles
will option A be the cheaper plan?
3. You have just been offered a new job delivering flyers for a teen band’s weekly performance. You
have two salary options. You can receive a straight salary of $50 per week (no option for
additional $ due to lots of deliveries) or you can receive a salary of $20 per week plus 5% of the
number of deliveries you make per week (commission option). How many flyers must you sell
each week in order for the commission option to be the better deal?
4. Lovett charges $4 for student tickets and $6 for adult tickets to a sports event. The school
hopes to make back the $3,000 that was spent to pay the 30 people who are directing traffic
and parking. How many of each type ticket must be sold in order to cover the $3,000. If
Lovett sold 280 student tickets at school before the event, how many adult tickets would the
school need to sell at the event? Give 2 possible answers.
5. The middle school elevator holds 2500 pounds. Mrs. Dixon is taking boxes of science
equipment from the 1st floor to the third floor. If each box weighs 52 pounds and Mrs. Dixon
weighs 100 pounds, how many boxes can she take on the elevator safely?
6. The Lovett School Bookstore designed 2 new bookbags, one simple one and one extravagant
bag. For each standard bookbag with a simple Lovett logo the store sells, the bookstore
makes a profit of $3; for each really styled up bag, the store makes a profit of $8. If the goal is
to make a profit of at least $500, how many of each bag must the store sell?
7. Donna's new car gets 22 miles per gallon (mpg) in the city and 34 mpg on the highway. Write and
solve a compound inequality which will represent the number of miles she can drive on 14 gallons
of gas.
8. The velocity of an object fired directly upward is given by V = 80 – 32t, where t is in seconds.
When will the velocity be between 32 and 64 feet per second?
Word problems adapted from the site above, Prentice-Hall Algebra 1 and…
www.sinclair.edu/centers/mathlab/.../SolvingLinearInequalities.pdf