the old fashion but newfangled candy company wants to mix some of its $5.50 per pound tropical taffy, with 100 pounds of its $6.25 per pound passion fruit taffy to create a $6 per pound taffy called tropical passion. How many pounds of the $5.50 per pound tropical taffy should the company use?

Answer 1

Let x be the number of pounds of $5.50 per pound tropical taffy needed.

The total weight of the mixture will be 100 + x pounds.

The cost of the mixture should be the weighted average of the two taffy types:

$5.50x + $6.25(100) = $6(100 + x)

$5.50x + $625 = $600 + $6x

$0.50x = $25

x = 50

The company should use 50 pounds of the $5.50 per pound tropical taffy.