Answer:
Emily has 12 dimes and 8 nickels.
Step-by-step explanation:
Emily has a total of 20 coins.
Let d be the number of dimes she has and n the number of nickels:
Dimes are worth 10 cents and nickels are worth 5 cents, therefore the amount she has and what she would have if the dimes were nickels and nickels were dimes are, respectively:
Since she would have 20 cents less in the second option, the following equation can be written:
Substituting (d = 20 - n) into this equation yields:
Emily has 12 dimes and 8 nickels.