Answer: $38.50
Explanation:
To determine the cost of 3 phone cases, I calculated the total cost of the cases without the coupon and then subtracted the coupon amount from it. Each case costs $14.50, so the total cost of 3 cases would be 3 multiplied by $14.50, which equals $43.50.
To incorporate the coupon, I subtracted the $5 coupon amount from the total cost of the cases. Therefore, the equation would be: c - 5 = 43.50, where c represents the total cost of the phone cases.
To solve the equation using substitution, I substituted the value of c in the equation with the total cost of 3 phone cases, which is $43.50. So, the equation becomes 43.50 - 5 = 43.50.
Finally, simplifying the equation, the cost of 3 phone cases is $38.50.