Answer: A can of soup costs $2.75, while a bag of chips costs $1.6
Step-by-step explanation: We shall start by first assigning letters to the unknown variables. Let each can of soup be represented by c, and let each bag of chips be represented by b.
If two cans of soup and three bags of chips cost $10.30, then we can write this out as,
2c + 3b = 10.30
Also, if four cans of soup and two bags of chips cost $14.20, we can write this too as,
4c + 2b = 14.20
What we now have is a pair of simultaneous equations
2c + 3b = 10.30 --------(1)
4c + 2b = 14.20 --------(2)
None of the variables has a coefficient of 1, hence we shall use the elimination method
Multiply equation (1) by 4 and multiply equation (2) by 2.
We now have,
8c + 12b = 41.20 --------(3)
8c + 4b = 28.40 ----------(4)
Subtract equation (4) from equation (3)
8b = 12.80
Divide both sides of the equation by 8
b = 1.60
Having computed the value of b, we can now substitute for the value of b into equation (1)
2c + 3(1.60) = 10.30
2c + 4.80 = 10.30
Subtract 4.80 from both sides of the equation
2c = 5.50
Divide both sides of the equation by 2
c = 2.75
Therefore a bag of chips is $1.60, a can of soup is $2.75