Kecia has only dimes and nickels in her pocket. She has 3 more nickels than dimes. The total value of the coins is $1.50.

How many of each coin does Kecia have?

Select the answers from the drop-down menus to correctly complete the statement.

Kecia has
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nickels and
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dimes.

1 answer

Let's define the number of dimes Kecia has as \( d \). Since she has 3 more nickels than dimes, the number of nickels can be expressed as \( n = d + 3 \).

The total value of the coins can be expressed in cents. Dimes are worth 10 cents and nickels are worth 5 cents. Therefore, we can write the equation for the total value as follows:

\[ 10d + 5n = 150 \]

Substituting \( n = d + 3 \) into the value equation gives:

\[ 10d + 5(d + 3) = 150 \]

Simplifying this, we get:

\[ 10d + 5d + 15 = 150 \]

Combining like terms:

\[ 15d + 15 = 150 \]

Subtracting 15 from both sides:

\[ 15d = 135 \]

Dividing both sides by 15:

\[ d = 9 \]

Now, substituting back to find the number of nickels:

\[ n = d + 3 = 9 + 3 = 12 \]

So Kecia has 12 nickels and 9 dimes.

Thus, the completed statement is:

Kecia has 12 nickels and 9 dimes.