Answer:
$3.65
Explanation:
The two purchases describe relations between quantity and price that can be used to write a system of equations for the prices of the hockey pucks and hockey sticks. These equations can be solved to find the price of a hockey puck.
__
setup
Let x and y represent the prices of a hockey puck and a hockey stick, respectively. The two purchase values are ...
5x +3y = 23.50
5x +y = 20.00
solution
Rearranging the second equation, we have an expression for y:
y = 20.00 -5x . . . . . . subtract 5x from both sides
Substituting this into the first equation gives ...
5x +3(20.00 -5x) = 23.50 . . . . . substitute for y
-10x +60.00 = 23.50 . . . . . . simplify
x -6.00 = -2.35 . . . . . . . . divide by -10
x = 3.65 . . . . . . . . . . . add 6
One hockey puck costs $3.65.