|  | 
| 
 
 
| Question 121815:  Sally bought three chocolate bars and a pack of gum and paid $1.75. Jake bought two chocolate bars and four packs of gum and paid $2.00. What's the cost of a chocolate bar and a pack of gum?
 Found 2 solutions by  checkley71, solver91311:
 Answer by checkley71(8403)
      (Show Source): 
You can put this solution on YOUR website! 3C+G=1.75 G=1.75-3C 2C+4G=2.00
 2C+4(1.75-3C)=2.00
 2C+7-12C=2.00
 -10C=2-7
 -10C=-5
 C=-5/-10
 C=.50 FOR THE COST OF A CHOCOLATE BAR.
 3*.50+G=1.75
 1.50+G=1.75
 G=1.75-1.50
 G=.25 FOR THE COST OF THE GUM.
Answer by solver91311(24713)
      (Show Source): 
You can put this solution on YOUR website! Let's say that a chocolate bar costs 'c' cents, and a pack of gum costs 'g' cents. 
 Sally bought 3 chocolate bars, so she spent 3c cents on chocolate.  Likewise, she spent 1g, or just g, cents on gum.  Together she spent $1.75, or 175 cents.  Now we can write:
 
 
   
 A similar analysis gives us an expression for Jake's purchase:
 
 
   
 Now we have a system of two linear equations in two variables.  We are interested in determining the ordered pair (c,g) that satisfies both equations.  This looks like a good candidate for the elimination method because the substitution expressions look a little messy to me.  (This is a matter of personal preference, or perhaps the instructions in an assignment.  Either way, properly performed gets you to the same place)
 
 
  
   
 Multiply equation 1 by -4:
 
   
 Add the result to the second equation:
 
   
 Divide by -10
 
   
 Now we know that chocolate bars cost 50 cents.  Substitute this value into either original equation:
 
 
  
  
   
 So gum costs 25 cents.
 
 Finally, convert your answers back to dollars and cents notation because that was the form of the given values for money in this problem,
 Chocolate Bars:  $0.50
 Gum: $0.25
 
 Check the answer:
 
 
  and 
   
 
 | 
  
 | 
 |  |  |