Need Help with Algebra Story Problem - Big and Little Jesse Walking

[GuMdRop]

I Need Help Immediatly!

I have another stupid algebra story problem that is really hard for me and might be easy for others. If you come up with the answer please tell me, or give me clues on how to figure the problem out. The teacher is asking for an explanation to go with the answer to! DUE MONDAY!

Big Jesse takes 2 steps for every 3 steps that Little Jesse takes. To bein walking, they each step forward on their right foot at exactly the same time. When will their left feet touch the ground at exactly the same time??

 

[Roberth]

I have another stupid algebra story problem that is really hard for me and might be easy for others. If you come up with the answer please tell me, or give me clues on how to figure the problem out. The teacher is asking for an explanation to go with the answer to! DO MONDAY!

Big Jesse takes 2 steps for every 3 steps that Little Jesse takes. To bein walking, they each step forward on their right foot at exactly the same time. When will their left feet touch the ground at exactly the same time??

Come on, you can do this easily!

You do not even need Algebra for that!

Use a rules squared sheet of paper, start at the same line with little and big Jesse beside each other and:

let little Jesse first take 2 squares with this right foot, then 2 with his left etc.
let big Jesse first take 3 squares with his right foot, then 3 with his left etc.

then you will see after how many steps their left feet touch the ground at the same time.

With this sort of mathematics questions, if you do not see the number solution, always make a sketch!

Cheers,
RobertH

 

[wais]

Sure, I'd be happy to help you with this algebra story problem. Let's break it down step by step.

First, let's define some variables to represent the steps taken by Big Jesse and Little Jesse. We'll call Big Jesse's steps "b" and Little Jesse's steps "l".

Next, we know that Big Jesse takes 2 steps for every 3 steps that Little Jesse takes. This can be represented as the ratio b:l = 2:3.

Now, let's think about the steps they take together. They both start by stepping forward with their right foot at the same time. This means that their first step is taken simultaneously. Then, Big Jesse takes 2 steps while Little Jesse takes 3 steps. This means that after their first step, Big Jesse will have taken 2 more steps than Little Jesse. So, we can represent this as b - l = 2.

Finally, we know that we are trying to find the time when their left feet touch the ground at the same time. This means that the number of steps taken by each of them must be equal at that time. So, we can set b = l.

Now, we have a system of equations:
b:l = 2:3
b - l = 2
b = l

We can solve this system by substitution. First, we can rearrange the first equation to solve for b in terms of l:
b = (2/3)l

Then, we can substitute this value for b into the other equations:
(2/3)l - l = 2
(2/3)l - (3/3)l = 2
-(1/3)l = 2
l = -6

Now, we know that l represents the number of steps taken by Little Jesse. Since we can't have a negative number of steps, we know that our answer must be incorrect. This means that there is no solution to this problem.

I hope this explanation helps you understand the problem better. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Good luck with your assignment!