Question

Janet and Judy want to buy a set of DVDs. Janet has $47 less than the purchase price, and Judy had $2 less. If they pool their money, they still do not have enough to buy the DVDs. If the set costs a whole number of dollars, what is its price?

Answer 1

We'll first set x to be the price of the DVD set. Janet's amount of money is x-47 (47 less than x) and Judy's would be x-2 (2 less than x). Now let's set the problem up:

(x-47) + (x-2) < x

This being the sum of Janet's money and Judy's is less than x. Now let's solve the inequality.

(x-47) + (x-2) < x
2x -49 < x
2x < x + 49
x < 49

So the cost of the DVDs is less than $49.

Answer 2

Though it must be at least $47 unless Janet has a negative amount of money.