Math Problem Statement

A plane has 360 total seats, which are divided into economy class and business class. For every 13 seats in economy class, there are 5 seats in business class. How many seats are there in each class?

Solution

Let the number of seats in economy class be xx and the number of seats in business class be yy. We are given the following information:

  1. The total number of seats is 360: x+y=360x + y = 360

  2. The ratio of economy class seats to business class seats is 13:5, meaning: xy=135\frac{x}{y} = \frac{13}{5}

We can solve this system of equations step-by-step.

Step 1: Express xx in terms of yy using the ratio:

xy=135x=135y\frac{x}{y} = \frac{13}{5} \quad \Rightarrow \quad x = \frac{13}{5}y

Step 2: Substitute this expression for xx into the total number of seats equation:

135y+y=360\frac{13}{5}y + y = 360

Step 3: Combine like terms:

135y+55y=360185y=360\frac{13}{5}y + \frac{5}{5}y = 360 \quad \Rightarrow \quad \frac{18}{5}y = 360

Step 4: Solve for yy:

y=360×518=100y = 360 \times \frac{5}{18} = 100

So, there are 100 business class seats.

Step 5: Use the total number of seats equation to find xx:

x+100=360x=360100=260x + 100 = 360 \quad \Rightarrow \quad x = 360 - 100 = 260

Thus, there are 260 economy class seats and 100 business class seats.

Final Answer:

  • Economy class seats: 260
  • Business class seats: 100

Would you like further details or have any questions?


Here are some related questions:

  1. What if the total number of seats was 400? How would that change the number in each class?
  2. How can the seat distribution change if the ratio were 2:1 instead of 13:5?
  3. If there were an additional 50 seats added to the economy class, how many total seats would there be?
  4. How does changing the ratio to 10:3 affect the distribution of seats?
  5. What happens to the seat counts if 10 business seats are removed?

Tip: When working with ratios, always try to express one variable in terms of the other to simplify calculations.

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Math Problem Analysis

Mathematical Concepts

Algebra
Ratios
System of Equations

Formulas

x + y = 360 (Total seats equation)
x/y = 13/5 (Ratio equation)
x = (13/5)y (Expressing x in terms of y)

Theorems

Basic Algebraic Manipulation
Proportionality

Suitable Grade Level

Grades 8-10