To eliminate the terms when combining the equations, we need to find a common coefficient for in both equations.
Given equations:
Step 1: Multiply the equations
You mentioned multiplying the first equation by 2:
Now we need to determine what number to multiply the second equation by to eliminate . The coefficient of in the first equation after multiplication is , so we need to make the coefficient of in the second equation equal to as well.
The second equation has a term, so we will multiply it by :
Step 2: Write the modified equations
Now we have two modified equations:
Step 3: Subtract the equations
Subtract the second equation from the first to eliminate :
This simplifies to:
So, the price per pound of apples is:
Step 4: Substitute to find the price per pound of bananas
Now that we have , we can substitute this back into one of the original equations to find . Let's use the second original equation :
Calculating :
Subtract from both sides:
Now divide by 2 to solve for :
So, the price per pound of bananas is:
Summary
- Price per pound of apples: $1.25
- Price per pound of bananas: $0.75