4. A theater has a seating capacity of 900 and charges $2.50 for children, $4 for students, and $5.50 for adults. At a certain screening with full attendance, there were half as many adults as children and students combined. The total money brought in was $3825. How many children, students, and adults attended the show?

We have 3 variables to solve for.  We will start by writing two equations in three variables but, with the given information, will eventually have those equations written in 2 variables.  The strategy is to set up equations from the given information and solve the equations simultaneously.  Let's assign variables...

c= #children total

s= #students total

a= #adults total

c+s+a=900Eq1, total attendance, given

4c+6s+8a=5600Eq2, total receipts, given

a=(1/2)(c+s)

 =(1/2)c+(1/2)sEq3, #adults total, given

Let's substitute Eq3 into each Eqs1,2 to get two equations in two variables...

c+s+(½c+½s)=900Eq1, substitute for"s"

      1.5c+1.5s=900combine like terms

            3c+3s=1800Eq4, multiple equation

                                      by 2 to eliminate fraction

4c+6s+8(½c+½s)=5600...Eq2, substitute for "s"

   4c+6s+(4c+4s)=5600...distribute 8

               8c+10s=5600...Eq5, combine like terms

Let's solve newly arrived at Eq4,5 simultaneuously...

    3c+3s=1800Eq4

  8c+10s=5600Eq5

-24c-24s=-14400...Eq4 multiplied by (-8)

24c+30s=16800...Eq5 multiplied by 3

          6s=2400add all terms vertically

        ∴ s=400divide both sides by 6

Substitute value back into Eq4, solve for "c"...

      3c+3s=1800...Eq4

3c+3(400)=1800...substitute for"s"

  3c+1200=1800

            3c=600subtract 1200, both sides

          ∴ c=200divide both sides by 3

Substitute values back into Eq3, solve for "a"...

  a=(1/2)(c+s)Eq3

    =(1/2)(200+400)...substitute for "c,s"

    =(1/2)(600)

∴ a=300simplify

We now have our three variables solved.  Let's substitute those values back into original Eqs1,2 to check against the problem requirements...

          c+s+a=900Eq1

200+400+300=900substitute for "c,s,a"

               900=900true, √check

                  4c+6s+8a=5600Eq2

4(200)+6(400)+8(300)=5600...substitute for

                                                  "c,s,a"

        800+2400+2400=5600...simplify

                         5600=5600true, √check

So our calculated values are correct. Always check your solutions and work!

In summary, we have...

200 children, 400 students, and 300 adults in attendance at the theater for the screening.

Step-by-step explanation:

step-by-step explanation: