Question

Oliver works at a bookstore.He packed 20 identical paperbacks and 9 identical textbooks in a box. The total mass of the books was 44.4 pounds. After he put 1 more textbook and 5 more paperbacks in the box, the total mass of the books was 51 pounds.

Write a system of equations that can used to determine p, the mass, in pounds, of one paperback, and t, the mass, in pounds of one textbook.

Answer 1

If we let p and t be the masses of the paper and textbook, respectively, the equations that would best represent the given in this item are:
(1) 20p + 9t = 44.4
(2) (20 + 5)p + (9 + 1)t = 51

The values of p and t from the equation are 0.6 and 3.6, respectively. Thus, each paperback weighs 0.6 pounds and each textbook weighs 3.6 pounds.