Question

Three apples and six pears cost $7.44. Four apples and ten pears cost

$11.58. Find the cost of an apple.

Answer 1

$0.86

Explanation:

Let's say the cost of the apples is A and the cost of the pears is P.

3A+6P=7.44

4A+10P=11.58

Now our best bet is elimination. We have to multiply the equations (Dont' forget about both sides, otherwise it does not work!) by the least common multiple.

We want to keep the variable A, meaning we'll have to target B. The least common multiple is 30, so now we'll multiply both equations like so:

15A+30P=37.20

12A+30P=34.74

Now we subtract the second equation from the first one. We get:

3A=2.46

And we divide both sides by 3, leaving us with

A=$0.86 or 86 cents.