document.write( "Question 1184064: During one month, a homeowner used 700 units of electricity and 100 units of gas for a total cost of $486. The next month, 500 units of electricity and 250 units of gas were used for a total cost of $415. Find the cost per unit of gas.
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Algebra.Com's Answer #849883 by CPhill(1959)![]() ![]() You can put this solution on YOUR website! Here's how to solve this problem:\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "**Let:**\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "* 'e' be the cost per unit of electricity. \n" ); document.write( "* 'g' be the cost per unit of gas.\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "**Set up the equations:**\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "* **Equation 1 (Month 1):** 700e + 100g = 486 \n" ); document.write( "* **Equation 2 (Month 2):** 500e + 250g = 415\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "**Solve the equations:**\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "One way to solve this is using elimination:\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "1. **Multiply Equation 1 by 2.5:** \n" ); document.write( " 1750e + 250g = 1215\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "2. **Subtract Equation 2 from the modified Equation 1:** \n" ); document.write( " (1750e + 250g) - (500e + 250g) = 1215 - 415 \n" ); document.write( " 1250e = 800\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "3. **Solve for e:** \n" ); document.write( " e = 800 / 1250 \n" ); document.write( " e = 0.64\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "4. **Substitute the value of e back into either Equation 1 or 2 to solve for g. Let's use Equation 1:** \n" ); document.write( " 700(0.64) + 100g = 486 \n" ); document.write( " 448 + 100g = 486 \n" ); document.write( " 100g = 38 \n" ); document.write( " g = 0.38\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "**Answer:**\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "The cost per unit of gas is $0.38. \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " |