Question

Patrick purchased some supplies for his guitar students. He bought 25 guitar picks and 25 guitar strings since they only cost $1 more than the guitar picks. He spent a total of $40. If c
is the cost of one guitar pick, find the cost of one guitar string.

Answer 1

Let c be the cost (in dollars) of one pick. A string costs c + 1. Total cost:
25c + 25(c + 1) = 40
25(2c + 1) = 40 → 50c + 25 = 40 → 50c = 15 → c = 0.30.
Thus a string costs c + 1 = 0.30 + 1 = $1.30.