Question 1146950
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The problem is solved in ONE LINE


    The girls spent  4*2 + 5*2 = 8 + 10 = 18 dollars, in all.


All the rest in the post does not deserve any attention.
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I do not like VERY MUCH the form on how this text and instructions in the post are organized.


They only suppress the young students' mind.


In my view, it is very bad style teaching young students.



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By the way, the problem is about arithmetic, not about Algebra.


So, it is unclear to me, why you posted it to this forum.