Abhishek.

P – 8A

PRE-IB MATH INTERNAL ASSESSMENT

Aim: To investigate how I can use linear equations in making the right choice of a
driver for monthly travel requirements in a cost saving way.

Introduction: A system of linear equations is a set of equations that can be solved

together to find a common solution that fits them both. A linear equation is also an
equation that describes a straight line on a graph and has a standard form that looks
like this: y = mx + c.

The reasons why I chose to work on linear equations are:

1. Desire to explore more about the concept, by testing its real life use rather than just
abstract solving of problems on paper, having studied this topic for almost a year.

2. I come across many instances of choosing the right option when we are given
choices for example, choosing a better travel plan, or a flight ticket or a cell phone
plan. Many times, we are left to wonder which plan to choose within a limited budget
that we may have. So, I think I could apply the concept I learnt from my text book, to
the real scenario of making the right choice in terms of cost savings.

3. Recently, one of my dad’s friends was planning to hire a driver for his home to office
commutation and he was needing help to figure out the right choice of a driver within
a limited monthly budget. So, I wish that I could help him solve his problem by applying
the concept of linear equations to choose the best option between two call driver rates.

4. the desire to become proficient in forming systems of equations in two variables;

use tables and graphs to compare two linear functions; to understand the significance
of the point of intersection of the two lines on a graph; be able to guess & check to find
solutions to systems by using tables, and graphs of linear functions and learning more
on applications of systems of equations in science and social areas.

The idea that interested me the most is how to apply equations in a situation where
we have more than one or two options and so we need to decide which option is the
best in terms of cost savings. Also, I am interested in finding out the point at which
both the options mean equal costs, and at which point, does choosing either of the
plans makes any cost difference. So, I plan to apply both mathematical and graphical
methods and check if both give an identical solution for decision making.

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Research Question: Can linear equation pairs be used in real life decision making
such as choosing the best driver for monthly travel requirements based on driver rates.

Background Information: A linear equation represents two expressions equated to

each other. A linear equation is special because:

1. It consists of one or two variables.

2. The variables in a linear equation are never raised to a power greater than 1 or
used as the denominator of a fraction
3. On finding pairs of values that make the linear equation true, and plotting these
pairs on a graph, all the pairs of points for an equation lie on the same line.
Linear equations thus form straight lines on a graph.
4. When there are two linear equations, that can be represented as two straight
lines on a graph, the point where the two lines intersect will give the value of
the pairs that satisfy both the equations

In a linear equation with two variables, the value of one variable depends on the value
of the other variable. In a linear equation with x and y, x is the independent variable
and y depends on it. Therefore, y is known as the dependent variable. On a graph, the
independent variable is plotted along the X axis and the dependent variable is plotted
on the Y axis. When you provide a value for the independent variable, x, you can
obtain the value of the dependent variable, y. You can then plot the points (x, y) pair
on a graph. The real importance of graphing linear equations is that one should be
aware that any two points represent a line, so finding many pairs of values that may
pass through the line, that would satisfy a linear equation becomes easier.

There are many ways of writing linear equations, as given below:

y = 3x − 6

y − 2 = 3(x + 1)

y + 2x − 2 = 0

5x = 6

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y/2 = 3

The equation is called linear because the equation is of the first degree. Almost any
scenario where there is an unknown quantity can be shown by a linear equation, like
figuring out monthly phone bills, a company’s yearly operating costs, or predicting
profit. Many people use linear equations in their day to day life, just by doing mental
math in their head without drawing a line graph.

There are some basic concepts about linear equation that

one needs to be aware before we go deep into their
applications:

• To begin with, a system of linear equations refers to two or

more linear equations, as shown in the figure on the right.

• If any two linear equations meet, the point of

intersection, shown as a dot in the figure on the right,
represents the common solution to both the linear
equations.

• There are three possible

cases for linear equations,
as shown in the figure on
the right:
o Graph with a common
solution - have different
slopes
o Graph with no solution -
have same slope
o Graph with infinite
solutions - have same
slope; one equation is a
multiple of the other

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• The equations with solutions are consistent but the graph without any solution
is in-consistent.

Some uses of linear equations:

 To find the cost of a taxi trip – for example, a taxi service charges $10 to pick your
family up from your hotel and another $0.25 per mile for the trip, by using "x" to
represent the number of miles travelled and "y" to represent the total cost of taxi
ride, the linear equation would be: y = 0.25x + 10.
 For comparing rates of pay - for example, if one company offers to pay you $250
per week and the other offers $10 per hour, and both ask you to work 20 hours per
week, you can compare the pay with linear equation. The first company's offer is
expressed as 250 = 20x. The second company's offer is expressed as y = 10(20),
then after comparing the two offers, the equations tell you that the first company is
offering the better rate of pay at $12.5 per hour
 To figure out the budget for a hotel stay – for example, for planning a party, the cost
of the rental space is $600 and the price of dinner per person is $10, the linear
equation would be written as y = 10x + 600. With this equation, the person planning
the party can substitute any number of party guests and figure out the actual cost
of the event which includes the food and rental costs.
 To predict a company’s cumulative profits from month to month – for example, a
bakery spends $1500 in initial startup costs and then earns $250 per month in sales,
the linear equation y = 250x - 1500 can be used to predict cumulative profits from
month to month. For instance, after twelve months, the bakery can expect to have
netted $1500 because (250 x 12) - 1500 = $1500.

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Examples of equations that show Linear Relationships: To understand more about

linear equations, some sources were referred, and the following examples were worth
mentioning.

distance = rate x time amount of water in a leaky bucket = rate of leak x time

A line having a positive slope indicates that A line having a negative slope indicates that
the values on both axes are increasing from the values on the y axis are decreasing as the
left to right. values on the x axis are increasing.

number of angles of a polygon = number of sides of that polygon degrees Celsius = 5/9 x (degrees Fahrenheit – 32)

For a polygon, the minimum number of Since temperatures may be in both

sides start from 3 and hence 3 angles. So, positive and negative values, points on this
the values are always whole numbers. graph are plotted on the full coordinate
Therefore, the graph starts at (3,3) and is grid.
shown with a dashed line. The points
between those plotted are not relevant to
the problem.

Materials Required: Information on fixed charges per month and charge per
kilometer for each of the two drivers.

Mathematical Presentation: Modelling a real word problem and identifying solutions

using simultaneous linear equations – which are solved at the same time.

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Core Problem: Rajesh (my dad’s friend) needs to choose a driver for his home-office
commutation. He has two drivers who are willing to offer their services: Ram and
David.

Data Collection: Both Ram and David have given their fixed charges per month and
charge per kilometer (as shown in the figures below). Mr. Rajesh would need to take
his car outside for official work and his personal work and so the kilometers driven in
a day may differ accordingly. For calculation purpose, total kilometers that could be
driven per month were taken.

Ram David

Unbelievable
driver
Best Rs6000 per month
driver Rs 5000 per month rates!!!!

services Rs 10 per km Rs 8 per km

Rs 5000 per month
Rs 10 per km

Procedure:
1. First, identify the known and unknown quantities.

2. Represent the unknown quantity by assigning a variable.

3. If there is a second unknown quantity, then write the second unknown in terms
of the first.

4. Frame an equation to represent the words as mathematical expressions.

5. Solve the equations mathematically and graphically to find the unknowns.

Problem solving:

Step1: Identification of known and unknown quantities

Known quantity = kilometers

fixed monthly charges = constant

Unknown quantity = total cost

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Step 2: Represent the unknown quantity by assigning a variable

Kilometers is represented as independent variable X

Total Monthly Cost is represented as variable Y

Fixed charges are represented as C

Cost per km represents the gradient m in each equation

Step 3: Framing equations to represent the words as mathematical expressions in

the form Y = mX + C

Equation of Ram : Y = 10X + 5000 (m=10; C=5000)

Equation for David : Y = 8X + 6000 (m= 8; C=6000)

Step 4: Using the above equations, the kilometers driven per month and monthly
charges for both Ram and David were constructed in a table

KILOMETERS (X) MONTHLY CHARGES – RAM (Rs) (Y) MOTHLY CHARGES – DAVID (Y)

100 6000 6800

200 7000 7600

300 8000 8400

400 9000 9200

500 10000 10000

600 11000 10800

700 12000 11600

800 13000 12400

900 14000 13200

1000 15000 14000

1100 16000 14800

1200 17000 15600

1300 18000 16400

1400 19000 17200

1500 20000 18000

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(a) Graphical Method of solving the linear equations:

1. The X and Y values were entered in the MS Excel table. One column of x
values and two columns of y values were created.
2. By blocking the table and choosing the scatter plot option, a graph was
generated in the Excel spreadsheet showing the equations as straight lines.
The blue line represents the equation for David, which is the equation: Y =
8X + 6000. The red line represents the equation for Ram, which is the
equation: Y = 10X + 5000. X axis represents the kilometers (km) and Y axis
represents the Monthly Driver Charges (Rs)

Graph of Linear Equations for Drivers - Ram and David

22500
1500, 20000
20000

17500
Monthly Driver Charges (Rs)

15000 1500, 18000

12500

10000

7500 500, 10000

5000

2500

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600
Kilometers

Y = 10X + 5000(Ram) Y = 8X + 6000(David)

Analysis and Interpretation:

• There is a common point of intersection for the two lines on the graph, which
shows that these two are consistent equations with one common solution (X,
Y).
• The two lines intersect at the point (500, 10000)
• The gradient m for both the lines for Ram and David is got by using the formula
rise/run. For the Ram’s equation, m = 10. For the David’s equation, m = 8.
• For X value of 500, there is a common Y value of 10000 for both equations

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• This means if Mr.Rajesh travels exactly 500 km a month, he needs to pay a

total monthly cost of Rs 10000 whether he chooses Ram or David. It doesn’t
make a difference in his monthly driving cost.
• If he travels less than 500km every month, the red line (Ram) goes below the
blue line (David), which means he has to choose Ram, since his charges costs
less.
• If he travels more than 500km every month, the blue line (David) goes below
the red line (Ram) which means he has to choose David, since David costs
less.
• If he travels 1000km every month, it costs Rs 15000 if he chooses Ram, but it
costs only Rs 14000 if he chooses David. Rajesh would save Rs 1000 if he
opted for David. Mr.Rajesh being in marketing, needs to travel extensively in a
day to meet his clients and so would travel at least 1000km or more per month.
So, it would be cost saving for him by choosing David as his driver.

(b) To verify, if the above graphical solution is true through one of the
mathematical methods (elimination or substitution)
Equation of Ram : Y = 10X + 5000 (m=10; C=5000)
Equation for David : Y = 8X + 6000 (m=8; C=6000)

3 different situations were analyzed as given below:

Situation 1: If the average km travelled each month is 300, which driver costs less?

Solution: For X = 300,

Ram : Y = 10(300) + 5000 = 8000

David : Y = 8(300) + 6000 = 8400

Ram charges a lesser rate of Rs.8000 as compared with Rs 8400 charged by David.
So, Mr.Rajesh must choose Ram as his driver if his monthly km coverage is going to
be 300km.

Situation 2: If the average km travelled each month is 1000km, which driver costs
less?

Solution: For X = 1000,

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Ram : Y = 10(1000) + 5000 = 15000

David : Y = 8(1000) + 6000 = 14000

David costs lesser then Ram by Rs1000. So, Mr.Rajesh must choose David if he plans
to travel 1000 km per month. .

Situation 3: How much of km coverage would yield equal monthly cost if Mr.Rajesh
chooses either of the drivers Ram or David?

Solution:

Method 1: Equalize both the equations and solve for X.

10X + 5000 = 8X + 6000

2X = 1000

X = 1000 ÷ 2 = 500

By substituting 500 in one of the equations, Y = 10X + 5000

Y = 10(500) + 5000 = 5000 + 5000 = 10000

(X, Y) = (500, 10000)

Method 2: Elimination (by subtraction)

Equation for Ram : 10X + 5000 = Y

Equation for David : 8X + 6000 = Y (-)

--------------------
2X - 1000 = 0
2X = 1000
X = 1000 ÷ 2 = 500

By substituting 500 in one of the equations, Y = 10X + 5000

Y = 10(500) + 5000 = 5000 + 5000 = 10000

(X, Y) = (500, 10000)

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Method 3: Substitution

Equation for Ram : 10X + 5000 = Y  X = (Y-5000)  (1)

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Equation for David : 8X + 6000 = Y (2)

By substituting the value of X from equation (1), in equation (2), solve for X and Y

8(Y-5000) + 6000 = Y
10
8Y – 40000 + 60000 = 10Y

2Y = 20000

Y = 20000 ÷ 2 = 10000

Y = 10000

Substituting value of Y in equation (1),

10X + 5000 = Y

10X + 5000 = 10000

10X = 5000

X = 5000 ÷ 10 = 500

(X, Y) = (500, 10000)

All three methods gave the same solution of (X, Y) = (500, 10000), like the graphical
method.

Conclusion: Based on the graphical and mathematical solutions, I conclude that

below the common point (intersection point), the cost difference is only minimal and
not significant. But above this point, there seems to be significant cost difference –
that is Mr.Rajesh would be able to save more on monthly driver cost if he chooses
David, and also be able to travel more and save more as well. For example, if he
travels for 1500km a month, he would save Rs.2000 if he chooses David as his driver.

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Recommendation for Mr.Rajesh:

Since Mr.Rajesh travels extensively for his official and personal requirements, the km
coverage per month would surely exceed 1000km per month and so, I recommend
choosing David as his driver for his travel requirements. This would help him travel
more while at the same time save on his monthly travel expenses.

In my next math project, I aim to investigate a system of three simultaneous linear

equations for real life problem solving by using both the mathematical and graphical
methods, by choosing one of the following areas.

 to calculate the best routes for your running or cycling schedule

 to calculate running times to determine speed, distances and time when traveling
by car, plane or train
 to determine the best loan choice to make when buying a car or a house
 to determine the best way to price a product and sell it.
 to ensure two airplanes don’t intersect at the same time (used in air traffic control)
 to decide on the best investment option (choosing which bank to deposit)
 to achieve a certain consistency in a product made by proportionate mixing up
several compounds

Bibliography:

http://www.algebra-class.com/system-of-equations-word-problem.html
https://sciencing.com/linear-equations-used-everyday-life-6022370.html
https://www.eduplace.com/math/mathsteps/7/d/index.html
https://www.basic-mathematics.com/solve-real-world-problems-with-a-system-of-
linear-equations.html
https://students.ga.desire2learn.com/d2l/lor/viewer/viewFile.d2lfile/1798/12632/Algeb
ra_ReasoningWithEquationsandInequalities12.html
https://www.mathwarehouse.com/algebra/linear_equation/systems-of-equation/real-
world-application.php
http://www.mathscareers.org.uk/article/linear-equations/

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