Question

Helen spent $7.75 to purchase 23 snacks for a club meeting. Chips are $0.25 and pretzels are $0.50. How many of each snack did Helen buy?

Answer 1

Helen bought 15 chips and 8 pretzels.

Chips and pretzels = 23 snacks
Chips = x
pretzels = 23 - x
chips = $0.25
pretzels = $0.50

$0.25x + $0.50(23-x) = $7.75
$0.25x + $11.50 - $0.50x = $7.75
-$0.25x = $7.75 - $11.50
-$0.25x = -$3.75
-$0.25x/-$0.25 = -$3.75/-$0.25
x = 15  * number of chips.

number of pretzels = 23 - x = 23 - 15 = 8

To check:
$0.25(15) + $0.50(8) = $7.75
$3.75 + $4.00 = $7.75
$7.75 = $7.75