There are 20 nickels and 16 quarters
<em><u>Solution:</u></em>
Let "n" be the number of nickels
Let "q" be the number of quarters
We know that,
1 nickel = 0.05 dollar
1 quarter = 0.25 dollar
<em><u>Gabby has a bag containing 36 nickels and quarters</u></em>
Therefore,
n + q = 36
n = 36 - q ------- eqn 1
<em><u>The total value of the coins is $5</u></em>
<em><u>Thus we frame a equation as:</u></em>
number of nickels x 1 nickel + number of quarters x 1 quarter = 5
0.05n + 0.25q = 5 ------- eqn 2
<em><u>Substitute eqn 1 in eqn 2</u></em>
0.05(36 - q) + 0.25q = 5
1.8 - 0.05q + 0.25q = 5
0.2q = 3.2
q = 16
<em><u>Substitute q = 16 in eqn 1</u></em>
n = 36 - 16
n = 20
Thus there are 20 nickels and 16 quarters