3 bags of candy prizes total $143. The chocolate cost 3 times as much as the jelly beans, the hard candy cost 1 less than twice as much as the jelly beans.

Question

Set up an equation to solve for each amount. 

Answer 1

Stacy, let's call the cost of jelly beans j. Then chocolate costs 3j and hard candies cost 2j - 1.

 

j + 3j + 2j - 1 = 143

6j - 1 = 143

6j = 144

j = 24

 

3(24) = 72 and 2(24) - 1 = 47

 

Jelly beans cost $24, chocolate $72 and hard candies $47.