Solving Rational Equations: Real-Life Applications in 8th Grade

A car travels at a speed of 60 miles per hour. How long will it take to travel 150 miles? Write a rational equation to model this situation and solve for time.

• 1.5 hours

• 2.5 hours

• 3 hours

• 4 hours

A tank can be filled by a pipe in 4 hours and emptied by another pipe in 6 hours. If both pipes are open, how long will it take to fill the tank? Set up a rational equation and interpret the solution.

• 12 hours

• 8 hours

• 14 hours

• 10 hours

A recipe requires 3/4 cup of sugar for every 2 cups of flour. If you want to use 5 cups of flour, how much sugar do you need? Create a rational equation to find the answer.

• 3 cups of sugar

• 1.875 cups of sugar

• 1.5 cups of sugar

• 2.5 cups of sugar

A cyclist travels 12 miles in 1 hour and then 18 miles in 1.5 hours. What is the average speed of the cyclist? Formulate a rational equation to find the average speed and explain the result.

• 12 miles per hour

• 20 miles per hour

• 15 miles per hour

• 10 miles per hour

A swimming pool can be filled by one hose in 3 hours and another hose in 5 hours. If both hoses are used together, how long will it take to fill the pool? Write a rational equation and interpret the solution.

• 4 hours

• 3.5 hours

• 2.5 hours

• 1.875 hours

A store sells pencils at $0.50 each and erasers at $0.75 each. If a student buys a total of 10 items for $6.00, how many of each did they buy? Set up a rational equation to solve this problem.

• 4 pencils and 6 erasers

• 6 pencils and 4 erasers

• 7 pencils and 3 erasers

• 5 pencils and 5 erasers

A water tank is being filled at a rate of 5 gallons per minute. If it takes 20 minutes to fill the tank, how many gallons does the tank hold? Create a rational equation and explain the solution contextually.

• 80 gallons

• 120 gallons

• 100 gallons

• 60 gallons

A train travels 300 miles in 5 hours. If it continues at the same speed, how far will it travel in 8 hours? Write a rational equation to model this situation and interpret the result.

• 420 miles

• 480 miles

• 360 miles

• 540 miles

A gardener can plant a row of flowers in 2 hours. If he works with a friend who can plant the same row in 3 hours, how long will it take them to plant the row together? Set up a rational equation and explain the solution.

• 1 hour

• 2.5 hours

• 3 hours

• 1.2 hours

A factory produces 100 widgets in 4 hours. If the production rate increases by 25% in the next hour, how many widgets will be produced in 5 hours? Create a rational equation to find the answer and interpret the result.

• 100

• 150

• 120

• 131