Question

The cost of 5 squash and 2 zucchini is $1.32. Three squash and 1 zucchini cost $0.75. Find the cost of each vegetable

Answer 1

Let's define the cost of each vegetable:
- Let the cost of one squash be \( s \).
- Let the cost of one zucchini be \( z \).

We have the following two equations based on the problem statement:

1. \( 5s + 2z = 1.32 \) (for the cost of 5 squash and 2 zucchini)
2. \( 3s + 1z = 0.75 \) (for the cost of 3 squash and 1 zucchini)

Now we can solve these two equations.

First, we can rearrange the second equation to express \( z \) in terms of \( s \):

\[
z = 0.75 - 3s
\]

Now we can substitute this expression for \( z \) into the first equation:

\[
5s + 2(0.75 - 3s) = 1.32
\]

Expanding this gives:

\[
5s + 1.5 - 6s = 1.32
\]

Combining like terms:

\[
-s + 1.5 = 1.32
\]

Subtracting 1.5 from both sides:

\[
-s = 1.32 - 1.5
\]
\[
-s = -0.18
\]

Multiplying by -1:

\[
s = 0.18
\]

Now we substitute \( s = 0.18 \) back into the equation for \( z \):

\[
z = 0.75 - 3(0.18)
\]
\[
z = 0.75 - 0.54
\]
\[
z = 0.21
\]

Thus, the costs of the vegetables are:
- The cost of one squash \( s \) is **$0.18**.
- The cost of one zucchini \( z \) is **$0.21**.

Let's summarize:
- Cost of one squash: **$0.18**
- Cost of one zucchini: **$0.21**.