Question

Mrs. Eaton sometimes makes her melon salad for special events.

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​When she made it a couple months ago, she used 22 kilograms of honeydew melon and 22 kilograms of watermelon, which cost her \$ 4$4.

​Today, she used 11 kilogram of honeydew melon and 22 kilograms of watermelon, spending a total of \$ 3$3 on the melons.

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​Assuming that the prices of the melons haven't changed, how much does a kilogram of each type of melon cost?

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Answer 1

• honeydew: $2.00 per kg
• watermelon: $0.50 per kg

Explanation:

The cost per kilogram is found by dividing cost by kilograms:

honeydew:

($4)/(2 kg) = $2/kg

Honeydew costs $2 per kilogram.

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watermelon:

Let w represent the cost per kg of watermelon. The total value of the second purchase was ...

(1 kg honeydew)×($2/kg) +(2 kg watermelon)×(w) = $3

$2 +2w = $3

2w = $1 . . . . . . . . . . . . subtract $2

w = $1/2 = $0.50 . . . . divide by 2

The watermelon cost $0.50 per kilogram.