Final answer:
The cost of each book Jason bought can be found by solving the equation 3x - 2 = 13, which leads to x being $5 per book after applying arithmetic operations to isolate x.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine the cost of each book Jason bought, we can set up an equation where x represents the cost of one book. Since he bought 3 books and had a $2 coupon, the equation incorporating the total spent would be:
3x - 2 = 13
To solve for x, you would add 2 to both sides of the equation to isolate the term with x, which gives you 3x = 15.
Then, you divide both sides by 3 to find the value of x, which results in x being $5, the cost of one book.