PAIR OF LINEAR EQUATIONS IN TWO VARIABLES

EXAMPLE 1. Let us take the example given in Section 3.1. Akhila goes
to a fair with Rs 20 and wants to have rides on the Giant Wheel and play
Hoopla. Represent this situation algebraically and graphically
(geometrically).

EXAMPLE 2. Romila went to a stationery shop and purchased 2 pencils

and 3 erasers for Rs 9. Her friend Sonali saw the new variety of pencils
and erasers with Romila, and she also bought 4 pencils and 6 erasers of
the same kind for Rs 18 Represent this situation algebraically and
graphically.

EXAMPLE 3. Two rails are represented by the equations x + 2y − 4 = 0

and 2x + 4y 12 = 0. Represent this situation geometrically.

EXERCISE 3.1

Q 1. Aftab tells his daughter, “Seven years ago, I was seven times as old
as you were then, Also, three years from now, I shall be three times as
old as you will be.” (Isn’t this interesting?) Represent this situation
algebraically and graphically.

Q 2. The coach of a cricket team buys 3 bats and 6 balls for Rs 3900.
Later, she buys another bat and 2 more balls of the same kind for Rs
1300. Represent this situation algebraically and geometrically.

Q 3. The cost of 2 kg of apples and 1 kg of grapes on a day was found to

be Rs 160. After a month, the cost of 4 kg of apples and 2 kg of grapes is
Rs 300. Represent the situation algebraically and geometrically.

EXAMPLE 4. Check whether the pair of equations

x + 3y = 6 (1)
and 2x − 3y = 12 (2)
is consistent. If so, solve them graphically.

EXAMPLE 5. Graphically, find whether the following pair of equations

has no solution, unique solution or infinitely many solution:
 5x − 8y + 1 = 0 (1)
24 3
3x − y+ =0 (2)
5 5

EXAMPLE 6. Champa went to a ‘Sale’ to purchase some pants and

skirts. When her friends asked her how many of each she had bought,
she answered, “The number of skirts is two less than twice the number
of pants purchased. Also, the number of skirts is four less then four
times the number of pants purchased”. Help her friends to find how
many pants and skirts Champa bought.

Exercise 3.2

Exercise 3.2
Q 1. Form the pair of linear equations in the following problems, and
find solution graphically.
(i) 10 students of Class X took part in a Mathematics quiz. If the
number of girls is 4 more than the number of boys, find the number of
boys and girls who took part in the quiz.
(ii) 5 pencils and 7 pens together cost Rs 50 whereas 7 pencils and
5 pens together cost Rs 46. Find the cost of one pencil and that of one
pen.

a1 b1 c
Q 2. On comparing the ratios , and 1 , find out whether the lines
a 2 b2 c2
representing the following pairs of linear equations intersect at a point,
are parallel or coincident:
(i) 5x − 4y + 8 = 0 (ii) 9x + 3y + 12 = 0
7x + 6y − 9 = 0 18 + 6y + 24 = 0

(iii) 6x − 3y + 10 = 0
2x − y + 9 = 0

a1 b1 c
Q 3. On comparing the ratios , and 1 , find out whether the
a 2 b2 c2
following pair of linear equations are consistent, or inconsistent.
(i) 3x + 2y = 5; 2x −3y = 7
(ii) 2x − 3y = 8; 4x − 6y = 9
3 5
(iii) x + y = 7; 9x − 10y =14
2 3
(iv) 5x − 3y = 11; −10x + 6y = −22
4
(v) x = 2y = 8 ; 2x + 3y = 12
3
Q 4. Which of the following pair of linear equations are
consistent/inconsistent? If consistent, obtain the solution graphically.
(i) x + y = 5, 2x + 2y = 10
(ii) x − y = 8, 3x − 3y = 16
(iii) 2x + y − 6 = 0, 4x − 2y − 4 = 0
(iv) 2x − 2y −2 = 0, 4x − 4y − 5 = 0

Q 5. Half the perimeter of a rectangular garden, whose length is 4 m

more than its width, is 36 m. Find the dimensions of the garden.

Q 6. Given the linear equation 2x + 3y − 8 = 0, write another linear

equation in two variables such that the geometrical representation of the
pair so formed is:
(i) intersecting lines (ii) parallel lines (iii) coincident
lines

Q 7. Draw the graphs of the equations x − y + 1 = 0 and 3x + 2y − 12 =

0. Determine the coordinates of the vertices of the triangle formed by
these lines and the x-axis, and shade the triangular region.

Example 7. Solve the following pair of equations by substitution method:

7x − 1y = 2
x + 2y = 3

Example 8. Solve Q.1 of Exercise 3.1 by the method of substitution.

Example 9. Let us consider Example 2 in Section 3.3, i.e., the cost of 2

pencils and 3 erasers is Rs 9 and the cost of 4 pencils and 6 erasers is Rs
18. Find the cost of each pencil and each eraser.

Example 10. Let us consider the Example 3 of Section 3.2. Will the rails
cross each other?

EXERCISE 3.3

Q 1. Solve the following pair of linear equations by the substitution

method.
s−t =3
x+y=4
(i) (ii) s t
x−y=4 + =6
3 2
3x − y = 3 0.2x + 0.3y = 1.3
(iii) (iv)
9x − 3 y = 9 0.4x + 0.5 y = 2.3
 3x 5 y
− = −2
2x + 3 y = 0 2 3
(v) (vi)
3x − 8 y = 0 x y 13
+ =
3 2 6

Q 2. Solve 2x + 3y = 11 and 2x − 4y = −24 and hence find the value of

‘m’ for which y = mx +3.

Q 3. Form the pair of linear equations for the following problems and
find their solution by substitution method.
(i) The difference between two numbers is 26 and one number is
three times the other. Find them.
(ii) The larger of two supplementary angles exceeds the smaller by
18 degrees. Find them.
(iii) The coach of a cricket team buys 7 bats and 6 balls for Rs
3800. Later, she buys 3 bats and 5 balls for Rs 1750. Find the cost of
each bat and each ball.
(iv) The taxi charges in a city consist of a fixed charge together with
the charge for the distance covered. For a distance of 10 km, the charge
paid is Rs 105 and for a journey of 15 km, the charge paid is Rs 155.
What are the fixed charges and the charge per km? How much does a
person have to pay for travelling distance of 25 km?
9
(v) A fraction becomes , if 2 is added to both the numerator and
11
the denominator. If, 3 is added to both the numerator and the
5
denominator it becomes . Find the fraction.
6
(vi) Five years hence, the age of Jacob will be three times that of his
son. Five years ago, Jacob’s age was seven times that of his son. What
are their present ages?

Example 11. The ratio of incomes of two persons is 9 : 7 and the ratio of
their expenditures is 4 : 3. If each of them manages to save Rs 2000 per
month, find their monthly incomes.

Example 12. Use elimination method to find all possible solutions of the
following pair of linear equations:
2x + 3y = 8 (1)
4x + 6y = 7 (2)

Example 13. The sum of a two-digit number and the number obtained by
reversing the digits is 66. If the digits of the number differ by 2, find the
number. How many such numbers are there?

EXERCISE 3.4
Q 1. Solve the following pair of linear equations by the elimination
method and the substitution method:
(i) x + y = 5 and 2x − 3y = 4 (ii) 3x + 4y = 10 and 2x − 2y =
2
x 2y y
(iii) 3x − 5y − 4 = 0 and 9x = 2y +7 (iv) + = −1 and x − = 3
2 3 3

Q 2. Form the pair of linear equations in the following problems, and

find their solutions (if they exist) by the elimination method:
(i) If we add 1 to the numerator and subtract 1 from the
1
denominator, a fraction reduces to 1. It becomes if we only add 1 to
2
the denominator. What is the fraction?
(ii) Five years ago, Nuri was thrice as old as Sonu. Ten years later,
Nuri will be twice as old as Sonu. How old are Nuri and Sonu?
(iii) The sum of the digits of a two-digits number is 9. Also, nine
times this number is twice the number obtained by reversing the order of
the digits. Find the number.
(iv) Meena went to a bank to withdraw Rs 2000. She asked the
cashier to give her Rs 50 and Rs 100 notes only. Meena got 25 notes in
all. Find how many notes of Rs 50 and Rs 100 she received.
(v) A lending library has a fixed charge for the first three days and
an additional charge for each day thereafter. Saritha paid Rs 27 for a
book kept for seven days, while Susy paid Rs 21for the book she dept for
five days. Find the fixed charge and the charge for each extra day.

Example 14. From a bus stand in Bangalore, if we buy 2 tickets to

Malleswram and 3 tickets to Yeshwanthpur, the total cost is Rs 46; but if
we buy 3 tickets to Malleswaram and 5 tickets to Yeshwanthpur the total
cost is Rs 74. Find the fares from the bus stand to Malleswaram, and to
Yeshwanthpur.

Example 15. For which values of p does the pair of equations given
below has unique solution?
4x + py + 8 = 0
2x + 2y + 2 = 0

Example 16. For what values of k will the following pair of linear
equations have infinitely many solutions?
kx + 3 y − (k − 3) = 0
12x + ky − k = 0

EXERCISE 3.5
Q 1. Which of the following pairs of linear equation has unique solution,
no solution, or infinitely many solutions. In case there is a unique
solution, find it by using cross multiplication method.
x − 3y − 3 = 0 2x + y = 5
(i) (ii)
3x − 9 y − 2 = 0 3x + 2y = 8
3x − 5 y = 20 x − 3y − 7 = 0
(iii) (iv)
6x − 10 y = 40 3x − 3y − 15 = 0

Q 2. (i) For which values of and does the following pair of linear
equations have and infinite number of solutions?
2x + 3 y = 7
(a − b)x + (a + b)y = 3a + b − 2
(ii) For which value of k will the following pair of linear equations
have no solution?
3x + y = 1
(2k − 1)x + (k − 1)y = 2k + 1

Q 3. Solve the following pair of linear equations by the substitution and

cross-multiplication methods:
8x + y = 9
3x + 2y = 4
Q 4. Form the pair of linear equations in the following problems and find
their solutions (if they exist) by any algebraic method:
(i) A part of monthly hostel charges is fixed and the remaining
depends on the number of days one has taken food in the mess. When a
student A takes food for 20 days she has to pay Rs 1000 as hostel
charges whereas a student B, who takes food for 26 days, pays Rs 1180
as hostel charges. Find the fixed charges and the cost of food per day.
1
(ii) A fraction becomes when 1 is subtracted from the numerator
3
1
and it becomes when 8 is added to its denominator. Find the fraction.
4
(iii) Yesh scored 40 marks in a test, getting 3 marks for each right
answer and losing 1 mark for each wrong answer. Had 4 marks been
awarded for each correct answer and 2 marks been deducted for each
incorrect answer, then Yesh would have scored 50 marks. How many
questions were there in the test?
(iv) Places A and B are 100 km apart on a highway. One car starts
from A and another from B at the same time. If the cars travel in the
same direction at different speeds, they meet in 5 hours. If they travel
towards each other, they meet in 1 hour. What are the speeds of the two
cars?
 (v) The area of a rectangle gets reduce by 9 square units, if its
length is reduced by 5 units and breadth is increased by 3 units. If we
increase the length by 3 units and the breadth by 2 units, the area
increases by 67 square units. Find the dimensions of the rectangle.

Example 17. Solve the pair of equations:

2 3
+ = 13
x y
5 4
− = −2
x y
Example 18. Solve the following pair of equations by reducing them to a
pair ffo linear equation:
5 1
+ =2
x −1 y − 2
6 3
− =1
x −1 y − 2

Example 19. A boat goes 30 km upstream and 44km downstream in 10

hours. In 13 hours, it can go 40 km upstream and 55 km down-stream.
Determine the speed of the stream and that of the boat in still water.

EXERCISE 3.6

Q 1. Solve the following pairs of equation by reducing them to a pair of

linear equations:
1 1 2 3
+ =2 + =2
2x 3 y x y
(i) (ii)
1 1 13 4 9
+ = − = −1
3x 2y 6 x y
4 5 1
+ 3 y = 14 + =2
x x −1 y − 2
(iii) (iv)
3 6 3
− 4 y = 23 − =1
x x −1 y − 2
 7 x − 2x
=5
xy 6x + 3 y = 6xy
(v) (vi)
8x + 7 y 2x + 4 y = 5 xy
= 15
xy
10 2 1 1 3
+ =4 + =
x+y x−y 3x + y 3x − y 4
(vii) (viii)
15 5 1 1 −1
− = −2 − =
x−y x−y 2(3x + y ) 2(3x − y ) 8

Q 2. Formulate the following problems as a pair of equations, and hence

find their solution:
(i) Ritu can row downstream 20 km in 2 hours, and upstream 4 km
in 2 hours. Find her speed of rowing in still water and the speed of the
current.
(ii) 2 women and 5 men can together finish an embroidery work in
4 days, while 3 women and 6 men can finish it in 3 days. Find the time
taken by 1 woman alone to finish the work, and also that taken by 1 man
alone.
(iii) Roohi travels 300 km to her home partly by train and partly by
bus. She takes 4 hours if she travels 60 km by train and the remaining
by bus. If she travels 100 km by train and the remaining by bus, she
takes 10 minutes longer. Find the speed of the train and the bus
separately.

EXERCISE 3.7(Optional)

Q 1. The ages of two friends Ani and Biju differ by 3years. Ani’s father
Dhatam is twice as old as Ani and Biju is twice as old as his sister Cathy.
The ages of Cathy and Dharam differ by 30 years. Find the ages fo Ani
and Bijy.

Q 2. One says, “Give me a hundred, friend; I shall then become twice as

rich as you”. The other replies, “If you give me ten, I shall be six times as
rich as you”. Tell me what is the amount of their (respective) capital?
[From the Bijaganita of Bhaskara II]
[Hint: x + 100 = 2(y − 100), y + 10 = 6(x − 10)].

Q 3. A train covered a certain distance at a uniform speed. If fthe train

would have been 10 km/h faster, it would have taken 2 hours less than
the scheduled time. And, if the train were slower by 10 km/h; it would
have taken 3 hours more than the scheduled time. Find the distance
covered by the train.
Q 4. The students of a class are made to stand in rows. If 3 students
are extra in a row, there would be 1 row less. If 3 students are less in a
row, there would be 2 rows more. Find the number of students in the
class.

Q 5. In a ABC, C = 3 B = 2 (A + B). Find the three angles.

Q 6. Draw the graphs of the equations 5x − y = 5 and 3x − y = 3.

Determine the co-ordinates of the vertices of the triangle formed by these
lines and the y axis.

Q7 Solve the following pair of linear equations:

px + qy = p − q ax + by = c
(i) (ii)
qx − py = p + q bx + ay = 1 + c
x y
− =o (a − b)x + (a + b)y = a 2 − 2ab − b2
(iii) a b (iv)
(a + b) (x + y ) = a 2 + b2
ax + by = a + b
2 2

− 152x − 378y = −74

(v)
− 378x + 152y = −604

Q 8. ABCD is a cyclic quadrilateral (see Fig.). Find the angles of the

cyclic quadrilateral.