Question

Difficulty: EasySolving Systems of Linear Equations

A cafe sells muffins and scones. A customer purchases 22 muffins and 11 scone for a total of 1111 dollars. If the price of one scone is 44 dollars less than the price of 33 muffins, what is the price of one scone in dollars?

Answer: 5 dollars

Answer

The price of one scone is 55 dollars.
By translating the word problem into a system of two equations (2m+s=112m + s = 11 and s=3m−4s = 3m - 4) and using substitution, we find that m=3m = 3 and s=5s = 5. Thus, the price of one scone is 55.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Define variables and set up the equations based on the word problem.
Let mm = price of a muffin and ss = price of a scone. The equations are 2m+s=112m + s = 11 and s=3m−4s = 3m - 4.
Translating the text into algebraic equations allows us to solve for the unknown values.
2
Substitute the expression for ss from the second equation into the first equation.
2m+(3m−4)=112m + (3m - 4) = 11
This eliminates the variable ss, leaving an equation with only one variable, mm.
3
Solve the resulting equation for mm.
5m−4=11⇒5m=15⇒m=35m - 4 = 11 \Rightarrow 5m = 15 \Rightarrow m = 3
Isolating mm gives us the price of one muffin.
4
Substitute the value of mm back into the equation for ss.
s=3(3)−4=9−4=5s = 3(3) - 4 = 9 - 4 = 5
This calculates the price of the scone, which is the final requested value.

Key Concept

Solving systems of linear equations using the substitution method.
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