Ella and three friends run in a relay race that is 14 miles long. Each person runs equal parts of the race. How many miles does each person run?
1 Answer
Jul 13, 2018
3.5 miles
Explanation:
We might be able to do this in our head without algebra but for a more complicated problem algebra can be very useful.
The basic steps are the same.
Start with what we are told:
Number of people running = 4 (Ella + 3 friends)
Total distance run = 14
Each person runs the same distance
Use a letter to represent the distance we want to know:
e.g. Distance run by each person =
Write an equation (sometimes more than 1 eqn is needed) that shows what we are told.
Divide both sides by 4 to get only
