A store is selling two mixtures of nuts in 20-ounce bags. The first mixture has 15 ounces of peanuts combined with five ounces of cashews, and costs $6.00. The second mixture has five ounces of peanuts and 15 ounces of cashews, and costs $8.00. How much does one ounce of peanuts and one ounce of cashews cost?

a) $0.20 for peanuts and $0.45 for cashews
b) $0.20 for peanuts and $0.60 for cashews
c) $0.45 for peanuts and $0.25 for cashews
d)There is no solution.

1 answer

To find the cost per ounce of peanuts and cashews, we can set up a system of equations.

Let x be the cost per ounce of peanuts and y be the cost per ounce of cashews.

From the information given, we can write:

15x + 5y = 6

5x + 15y = 8

To solve this system, we can multiply the first equation by 3 and the second equation by -1 to eliminate y:

45x + 15y = 18
-5x - 15y = -8

Adding these two equations together, we get:

40x = 10
x = 0.25

Substitute x = 0.25 back into one of the original equations to solve for y:

15(0.25) + 5y = 6
3.75 + 5y = 6
5y = 2.25
y = 0.45

Therefore, the cost per ounce of peanuts is $0.25 and the cost per ounce of cashews is $0.45. So the answer is:

a) $0.25 for peanuts and $0.45 for cashews.