Office Supply

Question

An office supply store recently sold a black printer ink cartridge for $19.99 and a color printer ink cartridge for $23.99 At the start of a recent fall semester, a total of 52 of these cartridges was sold for a total of $1095.48 How many of each type were purchased?

Answer 1

Let:

x = black ink cartridges sold

y = color ink cartridges sold

 

Set up the system of equations:

1) x + y = 52

2) 19.99x + 23.99y = 1095.48

 

Solve using substitution:

Rearrange 1) to yield:

y = 52 - x

 

Plug into 2):

19.99x + 23.99(52 - x) = 1095.48

 

Simplify:

19.99x - 23.99x + 1247.48 = 1095.48

-4x = -152

x = 38

 

Plug x = 38 into 1):

38 + y = 52

y = 14

 

Solution: 38 black ink cartridges and 14 color ink cartridges