John has been throwing loose change into an old cookie tin. A quick count shows 23 nickles and dimes with a total value of $1.65. How many of each coins are present?

Answer 1

Hi Alex! Think about what you know and what the problem tells you...

You have 23 TOTAL coins. A dime is worth 10 cents, and a nickel is worth 5 cents. You have $1.65 TOTAL

So if D = number of dimes and N = number of nickels...

D + N = 23 or the number of dimes PLUS the number of nickels = 23

Also $.10D + $ .05N = $1.65 You can now substitute D = 23 - N into your second equation and solve!