Question

15. Chris has a jar with nickels and quarters in it. There are 95 coins in the jar and the coins total $12.95. How many of each coin is there?

Answer 1

Let x be the number of nickels and y be the number of quarters.

We can create a system of two equations based on the given information:

x + y = 95 (equation 1: the total number of coins is 95)

0.05x + 0.25y = 12.95 (equation 2: the total value of the coins is $12.95)

To solve for x and y, we can use elimination or substitution.

Using elimination, we can multiply equation 1 by -0.05 and add it to equation 2:

-0.05x - 0.05y = -4.75 (equation 1 multiplied by -0.05)

0.05x + 0.25y = 12.95 (equation 2)

0.20y = 8.20

y = 41

Substituting y = 41 into equation 1:

x + 41 = 95

x = 54

Therefore, there are 54 nickels and 41 quarters in the jar.