Question

Question #13a58

Answer 1

3 buckets and 2 spades would cost `$7.05`

Explanation:

The trick to answering this question is not to jump to the end too quickly. Before we consider what multiple buckets and multiple spades cost, we should think about whether we can determine what a single bucket and a single spade would cost. If we get that far, the rest should be easy.

If a bucket and spade together cost `$2.75`, we can write:

`b+s=$2.75`

Where `b` is the cost of a bucket and `s` is the cost of a spade. The next part states that a bucket costs `$0.35` more than a spade, or:

`b = s+ $0.35`

We now have 2 equations and 2 unknowns - a solution is possible! Let's substitute in for `b` in the first equation using the second equation:

`(s+$0.35) + s = $2.75`

`2s = $2.40`

`s = $1.20`

Now we can solve for `b` using the second equation:

`b= $1.20+$0.35 = $1.55`

Finally, 3 buckets and 2 spades would cost:

`3b+2s=3*$1.55+2*$1.20 = $7.05`