Each of 36 students at a school play bought either a cup of orange juice or a sandwich. A cup of orange juice costs $1 and a san
dwich costs $3. The total amount collected was $76. How many students bought orange juice, and how many bought a sandwich? Let represent the number of students who bought a cup of orange juice and represent the number of students who bought a sandwich. Then the problem can be represented by this system of equations:
+ 3 = 76
+ = 36
Answer the questions to solve the problem.
1. Explain what you should do with the two equations to eliminate one of the variables.