Chris paid $36 for 3 tank tops and 2 t-shirts. A t-shirt cost 3 times as much as a tank top. How much did Chris pay for the 2 t-shirts.

Question

This is easy enough to figure out in my head working backwards (Tank top costs $4, t-shirt costs $12, therefore 2 T-shirts costs $24) but I am having a hard time creating the equation and order of operations. Help is greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

36 = 3tk + 2t

 

t = 3tk

 

So, substituting,

 

36 = 3tk + 2(3tk)

 

36 = 3tk + 6 tk

 

36 = 9tk

 

tk = 4

 

So, t = 12