Question

You have a cup with 17 coins inside. The total inside the cup is $5. 50. Determine how many half dollars and quarters are inside the cup

Answer 1

half dollars = 5

quarters = 12

Explanation:

Set up your equations:

let f represent how many half dollars there are

let q represent how many quarters there are

f + q = 17

0.5f + 0.25q = 5.50

Isolate one variable from the first equation (or the second, if you want to do it that way):

f = 17 - q

Now sub that into the second equation:

0.5(17 - q) + 0.25q = 5.50

8.5 - 0.5q + 0.25q = 5.50

-0.25q = -3

q = 12

Sub that value back into the original equation:

f = 17 - q

f = 17 - (12)

f = 5