Question

Two friends shop for fresh fruit. Elena buys a watermelon for $7.45 and 3 pounds ofcherries. Taniy buys a pineapple for $3.35 and 2 pounds of cherries. Use the variable p to representthe price, in dollars, per pound of cherries. Write and simplify an expression to represent how muchmore Elena spent.

Answer 1

Let's use the variable E to represent the total value spent by Elena and T to represent the total value spent by Taniy.

If Elena spent $7.45 plus the cost of 3 pounds of cherries, the expression for the amount she spent is:

$E=7.45+3p$

Taniy spent $3.35 plus the cost of 2 pounds of cherries, so the expression for the amount the spent is:

$T=3.35+2p$

To find how much more Elena spent, let's subtract both expressions:

$\begin{gathered} E-T\\ \\ =7.45+3p-(3.35+2p)\\ \\ =7.45+3p-3.35-2p\\ \\ =4.1+p \end{gathered}$

Therefore the answer is 4.1 + p.