Question

Ralph keeps quarters, nickels, and dimes in the change jar. He has a total of 52 coins. He has three more quarters than dimes and five fewer nickels than dimes. How many dimes does Sal have?

Answer 1

Sal will have sixteen dimes

Answer 2

Answer:Ralph has 18 dimes

Explanation:

Let x represent the number of quarters that Ralph has.

Let y represent the number of nickels that Ralph has.

Let z represent the number of dimes that Ralph has.

He has a total of 52 coins. It means that

x + y + z = 52 - - - - - - - - - - -1

He has three more quarters than dimes. This means that

x = z + 3

He has five fewer nickels than dimes. This means that

z = y + 5

y = z - 5

Substituting x = z + 3 and y = z - 5 into equation 1, it becomes

z + 3 + z - 5 + z = 52

3z - 2 = 52

3z = 52 + 2 = 54

z = 54/3 = 18

x = z + 3 = 18 + 3 = 21

y = z - 5 = 18 - 5 = 13