Question

four apples and one banana cost £1.40 seven apples and one banana cost £2.00 work out the cost of an apple and the cost of a banana .

Answer 1

• apple: £0.20
• banana: £0.60

Explanation:

Let "a" and "b" represent the costs of one apple and one banana, respectively. Then the purchases can be written ...

4a +b = 1.40

7a +b = 2.00

Subtracting the first equation from the second gives ...

(7a +b) -(4a +b) = (2.00) -(1.40)

3a = 0.60 . . . . simplify

a = 0.20 . . . . . .divide by 3

Using this in the first equation, we have ...

4(0.20) +b = 1.40

b = 0.60 . . . . . subtract 0.80

The cost of an apple is £0.20; the cost of a banana is £0.60.