SOLUTION: Jessie has dimes and nickels in his piggy bank. The number of nickels is 3 times the number of dimes. If the total amount is $8.50, how many coins are there in total

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Question 1058272: Jessie has dimes and nickels in his piggy bank. The number of nickels is 3 times the number of dimes. If the total amount is $8.50, how many coins are there in total
Answer by solve_for_x(190) About Me  (Show Source):
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Let n represent the number of nickels, and let d represent the number of dimes.

Since the number of nickels is 3 times the number of dimes, you can write:

n = 3d

The total value of the coins is:

0.05n + 0.10d = 8.50

Substituting 3d in place of n gives:

0.05(3d) + 0.10d = 8.50

0.15d + 0.10d = 8.50

0.25d = 8.50

d = 8.50 / 0.25

d = 34

The number of dimes is 34.

The number of nickels is then 3 * 34 = 102.

Check:

0.05(102) + 0.10(34) = 5.10 + 3.40 = 8.50

Solution: He has 34 dimes and 102 nickels.