Question

At a high school football game Jamie buys 6 hot dogs and 4 soft drinks for $13. Amy buys 3 hot dogs and 4 soft drinks for $8.50. What is the price of a hot dog?

Answer 1

let's let h = price of a hot dog and s = price of a soft drink

the amount spent on hot dogs is h * (number of hot dogs bought)

similarly, amt spent on soft drinks is s * (number of soft drinks bought)

Answer 2

using this logic, jamie's equation becomes

6h + 4s = 13
and amy's becomes

3h + 4s = 8.50

solve for h. as a big hint you can subtract equation 1 - equation 2 to eliminate the s terms