Question

The cost of three pants and four shirts is $68.45. If a pant costs $6.85 morethan a shirt, find the cost of a pant and a shirt. Estimate to the nearest wholenumber.

Answer 1

Let the cost of a pant and a shirt be represented by x and y respectively.

This implies that

`\begin{gathered} cost\text{ of a pant}\Rightarrow\$\text{ x} \\ cost\text{ of a shirt}\Rightarrow\$\text{ y} \end{gathered}`

Given that the cost of three pants and four shirts is $68.45, this implies that

`3x+4y=68.45\text{ ---- equation 1}`

If a pant costs $6.85 more than a shirt, this implies that

`x=6.85+y\text{ ---- equation 2}`

To find the cost of a pant and a shirt,

step 1: Substitute equation 2 into equation 1.

Thus, we have

step 2: Substitute the value of y into equation 2.

Thus, we have

`\begin{gathered} x=6.85+y \\ =6.85+6.842857143 \\ \Rightarrow x=13.69285 \\ \end{gathered}`

Hence, to the nearest whole number, the respective cost of a pant and a shirt is

`\begin{gathered} x=\$14 \\ y=\$7 \end{gathered}`