Question

John has four more nickels than dimes in his pocket, for a total of $1.25. Which equation could be used to determine the numbet of dimes, x, in his pocket?

Answer 1

So, you have to have your equation in terms of dimes. What you said about what he has: four more nickels than dimes in his pocket. Will help with our equation.
We know what a nickel and dime is worth. A nickel is .05 and a dime is .1
We don't know how many dimes are in his pocket, since we're trying to solve it.
.1x+(4+x).05=1.25; 
In the parenthesis, it shows how there are four more nickels. Let's solve it now.
.1x + (4+x).05=1.25
.1x + .2+ .05x = 1.25; Let's add like terms.
.15x + .2 = 1.25; Subtract .2 from both sides.
.15x= 1.05
1.05÷.15= 7 =x
There are 7 dimes in his pocket, let's check our answer.
We now know there are 11 nickels, since there are four more nickels than dimes.
11(.05) +.1(7) = 1.25
.55+ .7 = 1.25
Now that we've tried it, we know there are 7 dimes in his pocket.
Tell me if this helps!