Question

A merchant wants to mix gummy worms worth $5 per pound and gummy bears worth $3 per pound to make 30 pounds of a mixture worth $3.80 per pound. how many pounds of each type of candy should he use?

Answer 1

Let x and y be the amounts (in pounds) of the gummy worms worth $5 and $3, respectively. The sum of the weights of the gummy worms as stated is 30. Thus,

x + y = 30

The next equation is derived from the summation of all the products of the price and amount before and after mixing. That is,

5x + 3y = 30(3.8)

The values of x and y obtained using the two equations are 12 and 18, respectively.

Hence, 12 and 18 pounds of gummy worms worth $5 and $3, respectively will be used for the mixture.