how do I attack his problem?

Question

strawberries are $2.21 a pound and cantaloupes are $1.78 a pound. Ashley bought 27 pounds of fruit for an upcoming party. If she spent exactly $54.41 and bought both types of fruit, how many pounds of each fruit did she buy? There is no sales tax.

Answer 1

DEFINE VARIABLES

 

x=pounds of strawberries

 

27-x=pounds of cantaloupes; she bought 27 pounds in total so if you subtract the pounds of strawberries from this you will get pounds of cantaloupes

 

SET UP EQUATION

 

(2.21x)+{1.78(27-x)}=54.41; here I simply multiplied the pounds of each fruit by the price of the fruit and set that equal to the total cost of the fruit

 

SOLVE EQUATION

 

2.21x+48.06-1.78x=54.41

0.43x=6.35

x=14.77 

 

ANSWER: Therefore, she bought 14.77 pounds of strawberries and 12.23 pounds of cantaloupes (27-14.77)