SOLUTION: Miranda buys exactly 20 fish for $20.00. She pays $4.00/ea for Siamese fighting fish, $.50/ea for Betta fish, and $.25/ea for minnows. She bought at least one of each kind of fish.

Algebra ->  Customizable Word Problem Solvers  -> Misc -> SOLUTION: Miranda buys exactly 20 fish for $20.00. She pays $4.00/ea for Siamese fighting fish, $.50/ea for Betta fish, and $.25/ea for minnows. She bought at least one of each kind of fish.      Log On

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Question 110945: Miranda buys exactly 20 fish for $20.00. She pays $4.00/ea for Siamese fighting fish, $.50/ea for Betta fish, and $.25/ea for minnows. She bought at least one of each kind of fish. How many of each type of fish did she buy?
Answer by scott8148(6628) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
s+b+m=20 ... 4s+.5b+.25m=20 ... 3=s ... 1<=b<=16 ... 1<=m<=16

the cost of the Siamese helps to narrow the possibilities
... if she buys less than 3 Siamese, then there is too much money remaining to keep the number of fish at 20
... if she buys more than 3 Siamese, then there is not enough money to get the number AND variety of fish necessary

b+m=17 ... .5b+.25m=8 ... .5(17-m)+.25m=8 ... 8.5-.5m+.25m=8 ... -.25m=-.5 ... m=2 ... so b=15