SOLUTION: Christi has $1.25 consisting of pennies, nickels and dimes. She has one more penny than nickels, and two more nickels than dimes. How many of each type of coin does she have?
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Question 1174254: Christi has $1.25 consisting of pennies, nickels and dimes. She has one more penny than nickels, and two more nickels than dimes. How many of each type of coin does she have? Answer by greenestamps(13203) (Show Source):
Define as your variable the number of one of the types of coins, then use that definition and the given information to form expressions for the numbers of each type of coin.
You can choose any one of the types of coins as your basic variable; however, since the given information tells us the number of dimes is less than the numbers of the other coins. So I would choose to...
let x = number of dimes
then x+2 = number of nickels ("...two more nickels than dimes")
and x+3 = number of pennies ("...one more penny than nickels")
Use those expressions to write the equation that says the total value of x dimes at 10 cents each, plus x+2 nickels at 5 cents each, plus x+3 pennies at 1 cent each, is $1.25, or 125 cents:
I leave it to you to solve that equation and finish answering the question.
Note that solving the equation is straightforward basic algebra; the important part to the student in solving this problem is translating the given information into an equation.
So make sure you understand how I set up the problem....
