Someone has $12 in nickels and dimes he has three times as many nickels as dimes how many dimes does he have

Answer 1

We need to set up two equations, one to represent the number of coins, and one to represent the monetary value:

Let n = the number of nickels,

then .05n = the value of the number of nickels

Let d = the number of dimes,

then .10d (or .1d) = the value of the number of dimes

The total monetary value is:

.05n + .1d = 12

Since there are three times as many nickels as dimes:

n = 3d

Substitute the second equation into “n” in the first equation:

.05(3d) + .1d = 12

.15d + .1d = 12

.25d = 12

d = 48

This is the answer to the question, but I’ll keep going so we can check the answer at the end.

Substitute d = 48 back into the second equation:

n = 3d

n = 3(48)

n = 144

Check these answers:

48 dimes = $4.80

144 nickels = $7.20

$4.80 + $7.20 = $12