Help PlzJohn and Sara each bought the same type of pen and notebook in the school bookstore, which does not charge sales tax. John paid $5.55 for two pens and three notebooks, and Sara paid $3.50 for one pen and two notebooks. How much does the school bookstore charge for one notebook?SHOW WORK

Question
Answer:
Hey!
Let p = cost of a pen 
Let n = cost of a notebook 

The info in the question leads to two equations: 

1) 2p + 3n = 5.55 
2) p + 2n = 3.50 

Multiply equation 2) by 2 to get the new system of equations 

1a) 2p + 3n = 5.55 
2a) 2p + 4n = 7.00 

Subtract equation 1a) from equation 2a) to get 

n = 1.45 ...................... that's the cost of one notebook 

~~~~~~~~ 
To check, you could go on to figure out p, which turns out to be 0.60 . Put in those values of n and p into the original equations to verify.
Hope this helps! ~Nadia~
solved
general 11 months ago 3149