SOLUTION: mark has 44 coins. the number of dimes is five more than the number of nickels. The number of pennies is 1/3 the number of dimes. How much money does mark have in a piggy bank?

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Question 1123504: mark has 44 coins. the number of dimes is five more than the number of nickels. The number of pennies is 1/3 the number of dimes. How much money does mark have in a piggy bank?
Found 2 solutions by josgarithmetic, greenestamps:
Answer by josgarithmetic(39621) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
COIN       COUNT
Dimes       n+5
Nickels      n
Pennies    (n+5)/3
TOTAL       44

First find number of nickels; then evaluate how many of each of the other coins; and then compute amount of money.

%28n%2B5%29%2Bn%2B%28n%2B5%29%2F3=44
.
2n%2B5%2B%28n%2B5%29%2F3=44
6n%2B15%2Bn%2B5=132
7n%2B20=132
7n=112
highlight_green%28n=16%29
. 
DIMES    21
NICKELS  16
PENNIES   7
Totals   44

$2.97

Answer by greenestamps(13203) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!


The computations involved are nearly always easier if you can avoid fractions. So instead of thinking "the number of pennies is 1/3 the number of dimes", think "the number of dimes is 3 times the number of pennies".

Then you can set the problem up as

x = number of pennies
3x = number of dimes
3x-5 = number of nickels

Then

x+3x+3x-5 = 44
7x-5 = 44
7x = 49
x = 7

The piggy bank contains x=7 pennies, 3x = 21 dimes, and 3x-5 = 16 nickels.

The total value of the coins is 7(1)+21(10)+16(5) = 7+210+80 = 297 cents, or $2.97.