Question 149203
Joe has a collection of nickels and dimes that is worth $5.65. If the number of dimes were doubled and the number of nickels were increased by 8, the value of the coins would be $10.45. How many dimes does he have? 
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Let n = number of nickels
and d = number of dimes
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Because we have two unknowns we need two equations:
From: "Joe has a collection of nickels and dimes that is worth $5.65." we get
.05n + .10d = 5.65 (equation 1)
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From: "If the number of dimes were doubled and the number of nickels were increased by 8, the value of the coins would be $10.45." we get:
.05(n+8) + .10(2d) = 10.45
.05n + .40 + .20d = 10.45
.05n + .20d = 10.05 (equation 2)
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n = 25 (nickels)
d = 44 (dimes)
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Below shows the details:
*[invoke linear_substitution "n", "d", .05, .10, 5.65, .05, .20, 10.05 ]
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***************************************
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Walt made an extra $9000 last year from a part-time job. He invested part of the money at 9% and the rest at 8%. He made a total of $770 in interest. How much was invested at 8%?
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Let x = amount invested at 9%
9000-x = amount invested at 8%
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.09x + .08(9000-x) = 770
.09x + 720 - .08x = 770
.09x - .08x = 50
.01x = 50
x = $5000 (invested at 9%)
9000-5000 = $4000 (invested at 8%)