Question

Jane had some dimes and Sam had some nickels. Jane gave Sam a dime for every nickel that he gave her until Sam ran out of nickels. Sam now has 70 cents and Jane now has 75 cents. How many dimes did Jane start with

Answer 1

In total Jane initially had 11 dimes.

Explanation:

The number of cents Sam has now = 70 cents

The number of cents Jane has now = 75 cents

Initially Sam had only nickels, and Jane had only dimes.

Now, since Sam has $0.7

⇒ He holds 7 dimes.

⇒He gave away 7 nickels.

Also, Jane has $0.75

Now, 0.35 = 7 x (0.05) = 0. 05 x 7 nickels

So, Jane now has 7 nickels and 4 dimes.

Hence, in total Jane initially had 11 dimes.