Mrs. Baker paid $2.50 for 5 pounds of bananas. How do you write an equation relating the cost #c# to the number of pounds #p# of bananas. How much would Mrs. Baker pay for 8 pounds of bananas?

1 Answer
Jun 3, 2018

See a solution process below:

Explanation:

Mrs. Baker paid: #($2.50)/(5"lbs") = $0.50# per pound

The general formula for the cost of an item is:

#c = p * u# Where

  • #c# is the total cost of the items

  • #p# is the number of units purchased

  • #u# is the unit cost of the item, #$2.50# for this problem.

We can substitute for #p# and #u# to find the cost of 8 pounds of bananas:

#c = p * u# becomes:

#c = 8"lbs" * ($0.50)/"lb"#

#c = 8color(red)(cancel(color(black)("lbs"))) * ($0.50)/color(red)(cancel(color(black)("lb")))#

#c = 8 * $0.50#

#c =$4.00#

Mrs. Baker would of paid #color(red)($4.00)# for 8 pounds of bananas.