Step 1. Read the problem.
- Determine the types of tickets involved. There are children tickets and adult tickets.
- Create a table to organize the information.

Step 2. Identify what we are looking for.
- We are looking for the number of children and adult tickets.
Step 3. Name. Represent the number of each type of ticket using variables.
- We know the total number of tickets sold was 810. This means the number of children’s tickets plus the number of adult tickets must add up to 810.
- Let c be the number of children tickets.
- Then 810−c is the number of adult tickets.
- Multiply the number times the value to get the total value of each type of ticket.

Step 4. Translate.
- Write the equation by adding the total values of each type of ticket.
Step 5. Solve the equation.
3c+5(810−c)3c+4,050−5c−2cc====2,8202,820−1,230615children tickets
How many adults?
810−c
810−615
195adult tickets
Step 6. Check the answer. There were 615 children’s tickets at $3 each and 195 adult tickets at $5 each. Is the total value $2,820?
615⋅3195⋅5==1845____9752,820✓
Step 7. Answer the question. Galen sold 615 children’s tickets and 195 adult tickets.