The athletic department just received a shipment of footballs and basketballs. You don’t know how many there are, and don’t feel like counting. Here’s what you do know: each football costs 12 dollars, each basketball costs 15 dollars, and the credit card receipt says the total for the shipment was 1335 dollars. You also remember the number of basketballs ordered was 5 more than twice the number of footballs.

Question

To avoid counting, set up a system of equations representing the above situation, and solve it algebraically to determine the number of footballs.

Answer 1

B = 2F + 5

12F + 15B = 1335

In the second equation, substitute 2F+5 for B and solve for F.