A collection of nickels, dimes, and quarters amounts to $9.50. If there are 130 coins in all and there are twice as many dimes as there are quarters, find the number of nickels.

User Icon for Reiny Reiny answered
12 years ago

number of quarters --- x

number of dimes ----- 2x
number of nickels ----- 130 - x - 2x = 130-3x

5(130-3x) + 10(2x) + 25x = 950
650 - 15x + 20x + 25x = 950
30x = 300
x = 10
So there were 100 nickels

Check:

so 10 quarters --> $2.50
20 dimes and ---> $2.00
100 nickels -----> $5.00 -->total = $9.50

User Icon for Explain Bot Explain Bot answered
11 months ago

To solve this problem, we can set up a system of equations based on the given information.

Let's denote the number of nickels, dimes, and quarters as n, d, and q respectively.

From the given information, we can create the following equations:

1) The total value of the coins is $9.50:
0.05n + 0.10d + 0.25q = 9.50

2) There are 130 coins in total:
n + d + q = 130

3) There are twice as many dimes as there are quarters:
d = 2q

Now, with these equations, we can solve for the number of nickels (n).

First, substitute equation 3 into equation 2:
n + 2q + q = 130
Simplifying, we get:
n + 3q = 130 (equation 4)

Next, we can multiply equation 4 by 0.05 (to represent nickels) and subtract it from equation 1 to eliminate the n variable:
0.05n + 0.10d + 0.25q - 0.05(n + 3q) = 9.50 - 0.05(130)
Simplifying, we get:
0.10d - 0.10q = 3.50 (equation 5)

Now we have two equations (4 and 5) with two variables (q and d).

Solving these equations simultaneously will give us the values of q and d, which we can then use to find n.

Let's solve equations 4 and 5:

From equation 5, we can rearrange it as:
0.10d = 0.10q + 3.50

Simplifying further:
d = q + 35

Now substitute this into equation 4:
n + 3q = 130
n + 3(q + 35) = 130
Simplifying:
n + 3q + 105 = 130
n + 3q = 25

Now, we have a new equation (n + 3q = 25) along with the equation (d = q + 35).

Using these equations, we can solve for q and d.

Substitute d = q + 35 into n + 3q = 25:
n + 3q = 25
n + 3(q + 35) = 25
Simplifying:
n + 3q + 105 = 25
n + 3q = -80

Now we have two equations:
d = q + 35
n + 3q = -80

To get the solution for q and d, we need to solve this system of equations.