Question

Your brother is buying textbooks for college. He has to buy 3 math textbooks and 2 science textbooks. The total cost of his textbooks is $487. Write a linear equation to represent the cost of his textbooks.

Answer 1

Let's define the following variables,

x: cost of a math textbook

y: cost of a science textbook

He has to buy 3 math textbooks and 2 science textbooks, that is,

Total cost = 3x + 2y

The total cost of his textbooks is $487, then the linear equation is,

487 = 3x + 2y