SOLUTION: Diane bought a desktop computer and a laptop computer. Before finance charges, the laptop cost $300 less than the desktop. She paid for the computers using two different financing

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Question 1096323: Diane bought a desktop computer and a laptop computer. Before finance charges, the laptop cost $300 less than the desktop. She paid for the computers using two different financing plans. For the desktop the interest rate was 6% per year, and for the laptop it was 7% per year. The total finance charges for one year were $252. How much did each computer cost before finance charges?
Answer by greenestamps(13209) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!

The laptop costs $300 less than the desktop, so...

let x = cost of laptop
then x+300 = cost of desktop

The total finance charge of $252 is from 7% of the cost of the laptop and 6% of the cost of the desktop:

252+=+.07%28x%29+%2B+.06%28x%2B300%29
252+=+.07x+%2B+.06x+%2B+18
234+=+.13x
1800+=+x

The cost of the laptop is x = $1800;
the cost of the desktop is x+300 = $2100.