a group of bandys students go out to lunch at jimador mexican grill in denver. if two have burritos and 5 has tacos, the bill will be 19.50. if five have burritos and two have tacos, the bill 22.50. find the price of a taco and the price of a burrito.

1 answer

To find the price of a taco and the price of a burrito, we can set up a system of equations. Let's define:

  • \( b \) = price of a burrito
  • \( t \) = price of a taco

Based on the information provided, we can set up the following two equations:

  1. For the first scenario (2 burritos and 5 tacos): \[ 2b + 5t = 19.50 \]

  2. For the second scenario (5 burritos and 2 tacos): \[ 5b + 2t = 22.50 \]

Now we can solve this system of equations. We'll start with the first equation:

  1. \( 2b + 5t = 19.50 \)

    • Multiply the entire equation by 2 to make elimination easier later: \[ 4b + 10t = 39.00 \quad \text{(Equation 1')} \]
  2. The second equation is: \[ 5b + 2t = 22.50 \quad \text{(Equation 2)} \]

Next, we can multiply the second equation by 5 to align it with Equation 1': \[ 25b + 10t = 112.50 \quad \text{(Equation 2')} \]

Now we can subtract Equation 1' from Equation 2': \[ (25b + 10t) - (4b + 10t) = 112.50 - 39.00 \] \[ 21b = 73.50 \] \[ b = \frac{73.50}{21} = 3.50 \]

Now that we have the price of a burrito, we can substitute \( b \) back into one of the original equations to find the price of a taco. Using the first equation: \[ 2b + 5t = 19.50 \]

Substituting \( b = 3.50 \): \[ 2(3.50) + 5t = 19.50 \] \[ 7.00 + 5t = 19.50 \] \[ 5t = 19.50 - 7.00 \] \[ 5t = 12.50 \] \[ t = \frac{12.50}{5} = 2.50 \]

Thus, the prices are:

  • Price of a burrito (\( b \)) = $3.50
  • Price of a taco (\( t \)) = $2.50