SOLUTION: A bag of peanuts is worth $0.36 less than a bag of cashews. Equal amounts of peanuts and cashews are used to make 40 bags of a mixture that sells for $1.15 per bag. How much is a b

You can do it in your head.  Since equal amounts are used, $1.15 is the
average price of a bag of each. So peanuts have to sell for half of the
$0.36 (or $0.18) less than $1.15, or $0.97 and cashews have to sell for 
$0.18 more than $1.15 or $1.33.  The 40 bags has nothing to do with the
problem.

But if you have trouble seeing that, or if your teacher expects to see
some algebra, then do it this long way:

Let x = how much a bag of cashews is worth

So x-0.36 = how much a bag of peanuts is worth

So 20 bags of peanuts and 20 bags of cashews were used.

The equation comes from this:



20(x-0.36) + 20(x) = 40(1.15)

Divide through by 20

(x-0.36) + x = 2(1.15)

x - 0.36 + x = 2.30

          2x = 2.66

           x = 1.33

So a bag of cashews is worth $1.33, the same answer as when
it's done the easy way.

Edwin