You buy 3 shirts and 1 pair of pants for $32. Your friend buys 2 shirts and 3 pairs of pants for $40. How much did each item cost?
First let’s define a shirt as X and pants as Y!
In the first scenario, the equation will be 3X + Y =$32
In the second scenario, the equation will be 2X + 3Y = $40
Now because we have two different variables (X & Y) let’s solve for one of them (Ex: Y) to simplify the equations!
3X + Y= $32—> subtract 3X on both sides of the equation
-3X. - 3X
Net result: Y= 32- 3X
Now we can insert this into the second equation 2X + 3Y = $40 in order to solve for X variable
2X + 3(32-3X) = $40
2X + 96 - 9X = $40 —> simplify the equation
-7X + 96 = $40 —> substrate 96 from both sides
-7X = -56 —> divide both sides by -7
X= 8
Now reinsert 8= X into 3X + Y = $32
3(8) + Y = $32
24+ Y = $32 —> substract 24 from both sides
y = 8
ANSWER: X= 8, Y= 8