Sumalee spent $74 on 12 hostas and 2 pots of ivy. Heather spent $95 on 5 hostas and 10 pots of ivy. What is the cost of one hosta and the cost of one pot of ivy?

Question

Write the coefficient matrix equation.

Answer 1

This can be solved using a system of linear equations. If you let h = the price of hostas, and i = the price of ivy, then we have two equations:

12h + 2i = 74

5h + 10i = 95

These two equations represent the amount of plants bought by Sumalee and Heather, respectively, as well as how much they each spent.