inequalities solving word problems

Question

jolly rancher lollipops costs $0.25 each and Charms lollipops cost $0.15 each. You bought 36 more Jolly Ranchers than Charms. What is the greatest number of charms you bought if you spent less than $12.20?

Answer 1

Alright, Megi, let's do this.

 

Let j = the number of Jolly Ranchers and c = the number of  Charms.

 

Since there are 36 more Jolly Ranchers than Charms, j = c + 36.

 

I am going to multiply both sides by 100 to get rid of those pesky decimals, so 25j + 15c < 1220

 

Since we have a "value" for j, we subsitute it into the 2nd equation.

 

25(c + 36) + 15c < 1220

25c + 900 + 15c < 1220

           40c + 900 < 1220

                       40c < 320

                            c < 8

 

The max number of Charms you could have purchased is 7, since this is the biggest whole number less than 8.

 

Hope this helps!