Question

Olivia has $250 to buy presents for her 3 sisters and 2 nephews. She wants to spend $10 more on each sister than she spends on each nephew. Let s = the amount she spends on each sister, and n = the amount she spends on each nephew.

How much (in dollars) does she spend on each sister?

Answer 1

So we can write some equations to give us a system that can be solved.

You an always write an equation for the total:
250 = 3s + 2n

And we can relate the price of a sister's gift to that of a nephew:
s = n + 10

Then we take these two equations and substitute:
250 = 3(n + 10) + 2n
250 = 3n + 30 + 2n
220 = 5n
n = 44

To find the sister's price, we simply substitute into the price relationship:
s = n + 10
s = 44 + 10
s = 54

So $54 will be spent on each sister

Answer 2

THANK YOU!