A university bookstore recently sold a wirebound graph-paper notebook for $0.88, and a college-ruled notebook for $2.38. At the start of spring semester, a combination of 50 of these notebooks were sold for a total of $59.00. How many of each type were sold?

Answer 1

number of wire-bound --- x
number of ruled ---- 50-x

solve for x :

.88x + 2.38(50-x) = 59
I would multiply by 100
88x + 238(50-x) = 5900
etc.