Let us assume the cost of 1 apple = x dollars Let us also assume the cost of 1 pear = y dollars Then we can form two equations from the details given in the question. Based on those details the required answer to the question can be easily deduced. 3x + 8y = 14.50 And 6x + 4y = 14 Dividing both sides of the equation by 2 we get 3x + 2y = 7 2y = 7 - 3x y = (7 - 3x)/2 Putting the value of y from the second equation in the first equation we get 3x + 8y = 14.50 3x + 8[(7 - 3x)/2] = 14.50 3x + 4 (7 - 3x) = 14.50 3x + 28 - 12x = 14.50 - 9x = 14.50 - 28 - 9x = - 13.5 9x = 13.5 x = 13.5/9 = 1.5 Putting the value of x in the second equation we get 6x + 4y = 14 (6 * 1.5) + 4y = 14 9 + 4y = 14 4y = 14 - 9 4y = 5 y = 5/4 = 1.25 So we can find from the above deduction that the cost of 1 apple is 1.5 dollars and the cost of 1 pear is 1.25 dollars Then Cost of 2 apples = 2 * 1.5 dollars = 3.0 dollars So the cost of 2 apples is $3 and the cost of 1 pear is $1.25.
