Question

Jane has $20.00 to spend on $15.00 t-shirt and 2 pens. How much can she spend on each pen if they are both the same price?

Answer 1

$20.00 - $15.00 = $5.00

$5.00 ÷ 2 = $2.50 <==== price of a pen

Answer 2

Let p = cost of pens in dollars.

Jane has 20 dollars, she cannot go above this amount, so we should set up an equation.

`15.00+2p=20.00`

This equation says the fifteen dollar shirt plus the 2 pens she buys has to be equal to $20.00. Let's solve this equation to find the price of the pens. First, we must subtract 15 from both sides. When we do that, we get:

`2p=5.00`

After that, we must get p by itself, so divide both sides by 2.

`(2p)/(2)=(5.00)/(2)`

When we divide and simplify, we get:

`p=(5)/(2)` or
`p=2.5`

The cost of the pens are $2.50. If you want to check your work, plug in 2.50 for p.

`15.00+2(2.5)=20.00`

`15.00+5=20.00`

`20.00=20.00`

This is true. Therefore, the answer is valid.