dep. She has five fewer nickels than dimes. Total deposit was $55.40. How many dimes did she deposit.

Question

Word problem in algebra 

Answer 1

if d = number of dimes, then number of nickels n = d - 5

 

so if n = d - 5, you can sub "d - 5" for n in the second equation:

 

5n + 10d = 5540  (5n because nickels are 5 cents each, 10d because dimes are 10 cents each, and 5540 is $55.40 in cents--let's do it all in cents for now...)

 

anyway, because of the substitution, we can say that:

 

5 (d - 5) + 10d = 554o, so

 

5d - 25 + 10d = 5540, so

 

15d = 5565, so

 

d = 371 dimes.  371 dimes equals 3710 cents. Subtract that from 5540 cents to get 1830 worth of nickels.

 

1830 divided by 5 = 366 nickels

 

Hope this helps!

 

Matt in NY