Gabby and Brenda both went bowling last weekend, but not together. Gabby went during open bowling time, paying $7 for shoe rental and $1 per hour. Brenda went on family night, when each hour was $3 and shoe rental was $3. As it turned out, they played for the same number of hours and spent the same amount. How many hours did each one bowl?

Question

Gabby and Brenda both went bowling last weekend, but not together. Gabby went during open bowling time, paying $7 for shoe rental and $1 per hour. Brenda went on family night, when each hour was $3 and shoe rental was $3. As it turned out, they played for the same number of hours and spent the same amount. How many hours did each one bowl?

Let x represent the number of hours and y represnt the amount spent.

2 hours

4 hours

6 hours

8 hours
Step by step, and graphing

Answer 1

Let's set up equations to represent the situations.

For Gabby:
y = 7 + x

For Brenda:
y = 3x + 3

Since we know that they spent the same amount, we can set the two equations equal to each other:

7 + x = 3x + 3

To solve for x, we can subtract x from both sides:

7 = 2x + 3

Subtract 3 from both sides:

4 = 2x

Divide both sides by 2:

2 = x

So each person bowled for 2 hours.