Question

Ethan and Emily went shopping at a local farmers’ market. They both

bought the same type of apples and potatoes at the same stand. Ethan
paid $25.50 for 8 pounds of apples and 5 pounds of potatoes. Emily paid
$18.50 to buy 3 pounds of apples and 10 pounds of potatoes. Which
ordered pair represents the price per pound of apples, x, and potatoes,
y?

(3.66,0.76)

(2.50,1.10)

(1.71,2.36)

(0.62,4.11)

Answer 1

Let x be the price per pound of apples and y be the price per pound of potatoes.

For Ethan, the total cost for apples was $25.50 - 5y and the total cost for potatoes was $25.50 - 8x.

So, we have the following two equations:

8x + 5y = 25.5

3x + 10y = 18.5

Solving this system of linear equations, we get:

x = 1.71 and y = 2.36.

So, the ordered pair (x,y) = (1.71, 2.36) represents the price per pound of apples and potatoes.