Ms. Daniel pays $324 for a handbag and 3 pairs of shoes. The handbag costs half as much as the 3 pairs of shoes combined. Find the cost of the handbag.
Its impossible, unless you give us the cost of the shoes.
Let the cost of 3 pairs of shoes be N, then we have,
1/2N=the cost of the handbag, But we have:
N + 1/2N=$324
1 1/2N=$324
3/2N=$324, multiply both sides by 2
3N=$648, divide both sides by 3
N=$216, the cost of 3 pairs of shoes, therefore,
$216/2=$108, the cost of the handbag.
