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All courses Math Foundations · MF.QR.1 59 of 60
Identify relevant information, ignore distractors, and choose an appropriate operation or representation for a contextual problem.

Pick out the needed information

Problem
A group of 4 friends is buying $9 tickets to a school play that starts at 7:30 p.m. in a 120-seat theater. Identify the information required to calculate the group's total cost.
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Hint

Read the last question first: you are finding the group’s total cost, so look only for facts that affect how much money is paid.

For ticket cost problems, total cost depends on the number of tickets and the price of one ticket. Extra details about the event do not change the cost.

Solution walkthrough

01

Identify the target quantity

\[\text{target}=\text{group}'s~\text{total}~\text{ticket}~\text{cost}\]

Only information that changes the amount paid belongs in the calculation.

02

Use the cost structure

\[\text{total}~\text{cost}=(\text{number}~\text{of}~\text{tickets})(\text{cost}~\text{per}~\text{ticket})\]

The group needs one ticket per friend, and every ticket has the same price.

03

Select the required values

\[\text{number}~\text{of}~\text{tickets}=4;~\text{cost}~\text{per}~\text{ticket}=\$9\]

These two values supply the factors in the total-cost model.

04

Reject irrelevant details

\[7:30~p.m.~\text{start}~\text{and}~120-\text{seat}~\text{capacity}~\text{do}~\text{not}~\text{affect}~\text{cost}\]

Time and theater capacity provide context but do not enter the multiplication.

05

Report the required information

\[4~\text{tickets}~\text{and}~\$9~\text{for}~\text{each}~\text{ticket}\]

Those are exactly the quantities needed to calculate the group's total cost.

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Another way

  1. Write a units check: tickets times dollars per ticket leaves dollars, so only the ticket count and unit price are required.

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Common mistake

Do not include every number in the story; the start time and seating capacity do not determine the purchase price.