Question

A fruit stand sells apples, oranges, and bananas. The cost of 1 apple is $0.50, and

the cost of 1 orange is $0.60.
• Ronald bought 4 apples and 1 banana.
• Madison bought 2 oranges and 3 bananas.
• The total cost of the fruit Ronald bought was the same as the total cost of the
fruit Madison bought.
What is the cost of 1 banana at the fruit stand?

Answer 1

Maddison bought 2 oranges which cost ($.60 x 2 = $1.20) $1.20 total. Ronald bought 4 apples which cost ($.50 x 2 = $2.00). Now if we compare the difference between how much Ronald and Madison have spent so far we see that Ronald has spent $.80 more than Madison ($2.00-$1.20 = $.80). That means that Madison has $.80 more cents to spend on bananas than Ronald. We know that Madison buys 2 more banana than Ronald. So 2 bananas must cost $.80 cents. Divide the 80 cents by the 2 bananas and you figure out that each banana costs $.40 cents. ($.80 / 2 = $.40). To check that this math is correct next add $.40 cents for each banana to the amount of the other fruits they bought. So Madison bought 2 oranges ($1.20) and 3 bananas($.40 x 3 = $1.20) which together costs $2.40 total ($1.20 + $1.20). Ronald bought 4 apples ($2.00) and 1 banana ($.40) which together cost $2.40 ($2.00 + $.40 = $2.40. We can see that if the bananas cost $.40 cents each, Madison and Ronald will end up spending the same amount.