A candy bar and a piece of bubble gum together cost 1.50. The candy bar costs a dollar more than the bubble gum. How much does the piece of bubble gum cost, in cents?
Please don't be rude @guest with the "your mom" joke.
@SportzGuy2310 I agree with your answer! This is how I did it:
Let candy bar = c and bubble gum = b.
Now let's set up the equation: c+b = 1.50
And we are also given: c = 1+b
Now let's plug in c=1+b into c+b = 1.50
We get: 1+b+b = 1.50 ⟹ 2b+1 = 1.50 ⟹ 2b = 0.50 ⟹ b = 0.25
Therefore, the cost of a bubble gum is $0.25.
This is a system of equations problem. You can either solve it with elimination or substitution.
Let c = candy bar and b = bubble gum.
Elimination:
c + b = $1.50, and c - b = $1
Add the equations
c + b + c + (- b) = $1.50 + $1
2c = $2.50
c = $1.25
$1.25 + b = $1.50
b = $0.25
Substitution:
c + b = $1.50, and c - b = $1
c = $1.50 - b, so $1.50 - b - b = $1
$1.50 - 2b = $1
- 2b = - $0.50
b = $0.25
Since we don't actually have to solve for the candy bar, we can stop.