Question

a student government organization is selling christmas trees as a fundraiser. on friday, they sold five noble fir trees and three douglas fir trees for a total of $420. on saturday, twelve noble fir trees and 9 douglas fir trees were sold for a total of 1080. what is the cost per tree of each type

Answer 1

$60 for a noble fir, and $40 for a douglas fir

Explanation:

Let x represent the number of noble fir trees

Let y represent the number of douglas fir trees

We can set up a system of equations to solve this problem

5x + 3y = 420

12x + 9y = 1080

We can use elimination method to solve this. 9 is a multiple of 3, so we'll multiply the first equation by -3 to get...

-15x - 9y = -1260

12x + 9y = 1080

Now add them together...

-3x = -180 now solve for x...

x = 60

If x = 60, them

5(60) + 3y = 420 now solve for y

300 + 3y = 420

3y = 120

y = 40