Julia has a collection of nickels and dimes. Altogether, she has 17 coins. The total value of the collection is $1.15. How many nickels and how many dimes does she have?

Question

the question asks to solve by using elimination and writing a system of equation for it, it’s been driving me insane because of how confusing this question is please help.

Answer 1

Let x = number of nickels

Then, 17-x = number of dimes

value of nickels + value of dimes = 1.15

0.05x + 0.10(17 - x) = 1.15

0.05x + 1.7 - 0.10x = 1.15

-0.05x = -0.55

x = 11

There are 11 nickels and 6 dimes.