Question

2. John and Jen went to the farmers market to buy fruit. John bought 3 boxes of oranges and 9 boxes of cherries for $78. Jen bought 8 boxes of oranges and 4 boxes cherries for $58. The system of equations ( shown in the pic i uploaded) can be used to represent this situation. A. Find how much does a box of oranges and a box of cherries cost ?

Answer 1

Let the cost of orange be X and cost of cherry be y

3x + 9y = 78

8x + 4y = 58

Solving equation using elimination method

multiplying eq 1 with 8 and eq 2 with 3

8(3x + 9y ) = 78(8)

3( 8x + 4y) = 3(58)

24x + 72 y = 624

24x + 12y = 174

subtracting,

60 y = 450

y = 7.5

3x + 9(7.5) = 78

3x + 67.5 = 78

3x = 78 - 67.5

3x = 10.5

x = 3.5

Box of orange = $3.5

Box of cherry = $7.5