# Math Help - story problem

1. ## story problem

On her vacation in Europe, Jovita's expenses for food and lodging were $60 less than twice as much as her airfare. If she spent$2400 in all, what was her airfare?

2(x + x) - 60 = 2400

2x = 2460/2

x = 1230

am I right?

2. Originally Posted by Patience
On her vacation in Europe, Jovita's expenses for food and lodging were $60 less than twice as much as her airfare. If she spent$2400 in all, what was her airfare?

2(x + x) - 60 = 2400

2x = 2460/2

x = 1230

am I right?
Your final answer is correct, but you have a 2 in there where you shouldn't have. You have 2x = 2460/2 when you should just have x = 2460/2. Do you see it? If you actually solved the equation that you wrote down in the first line correctly, your answer would be 615.

Your solution should look like this:

Let her airfare be x, then twice as much as her airfare would be 2x. She spent $60 dollars less than that. So she spent 2x - 60 dollars. She spent$2400 in all, so:

2x - 60 = 2400
=> 2x = 2460
=> x = 2460/2
=> x = 1230

So her airfare was $1230 3. Originally Posted by Patience On her vacation in Europe, Jovita's expenses for food and lodging were$60 less than twice as much as her airfare. If she spent $2400 in all, what was her airfare? my answer is: 2(x + x) - 60 = 2400 2x = 2460/2 x = 1230 am I right? Let x be the airfare, and y the cost of food and lodging, then we are told that: y = 2x -60. So total expenditure: x + y =2400, or: x + 2x - 60 = 2400 3x -60 = 2400, 3x = 2460, and so the airfare: x = 820 dollars RonL 4. Originally Posted by CaptainBlack Let x be the airfare, and y the cost of food and lodging, then we are told that: y = 2x -60. So total expenditure: x + y =2400, or: x + 2x - 60 = 2400 3x -60 = 2400, 3x = 2460, and so the airfare: x = 820 dollars RonL Ha, ha. Apparently we were both wrong Patience. CaptainBlack has the right answer. That line where I said " Let her airfare be x, then twice as much as her airfare would be 2x. She spent$60 dollars less than that"

should have been: " Let her airfare be x, then twice as much as her airfare would be 2x. She spent \$60 dollars less than that, IN ADDITION TO HER AIRFARE"

So yeah, neither of us read the question properly. Thanks for looking out for me (yet again) Captain!

And let this be a lesson to you kids! READ YOUR QUESTIONS THOROUGHLY! I left my original post up so everyone could see me making a fool of myself, don't let this happen to any of you, be a good student and READ.