Problema Solution

Write a system of two equations in two variables to solve the problem.

In 2009, two tickets to a certain American band's concert and two tickets to a certain British band's concert cost, on average, a total of $600. At those prices, four tickets to see this American band and two tickets to see this British band cost $850. What was the average cost of these American and British band tickets in 2009?

Answer provided by our tutors

let 'a' represent the cost of a ticket to see the American band

let 'b' represent the cost of a ticket to see the British band


600 = 2a + 2b

850 = 4a + 2b


subtracting equation 1 from equation 2, we have:

850-600 = 4a-2a + 2b-2b

250 = 2a

a = 125


now we solve equation 2 for 'b':

850 = 4*125 + 2b

350 = 2b

b = 175


a ticket to the British band cost an average of $175

a ticket to the American band cost an average of $125