Question

Les bought 4 pairs of shorts for s dollars each and a blazer that cost three times as much as a pair of shorts. He spent $139.50. How much would two of each item cost​.

Answer 1

To find the total cost of two pairs of shorts and two blazers, we need to calculate the cost of each item separately and then add them together. The cost of one pair of shorts is s dollars, and the cost of the blazer is three times s. By solving the equation, we can find the cost of each item and then calculate the total cost of two pairs of shorts and two blazers.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the total cost of two pairs of shorts and two blazers, we need to calculate the cost of each item separately and then add them together. Let the cost of one pair of shorts be s dollars. The cost of the blazer will be three times s which is 3s dollars. So, the total cost of two pairs of shorts will be 2s dollars and the total cost of two blazers will be 2(3s) dollars which simplifies to 6s dollars. Adding these two amounts, we get 2s + 6s = 8s dollars.

Now, we know that the total spent by Les is $139.50. So, we can set up the equation 8s = 139.50 and solve for s. Dividing both sides of the equation by 8, we get s = $17.44.

Finally, to find the cost of two pairs of each item, we can substitute the value of s into the expression 2s + 6s. So, the cost of two pairs of shorts and two blazers would be 2(17.44) + 6(17.44) dollars which simplifies to $34.88 + $104.64 = $139.52.