Sure! Here’s a simpler version that sounds more like a 9th grader wrote it:
To figure out how much money Santiago spent on books, we can use two variables. Let’s say:
- \( h \) = the number of hard cover books.
- \( s \) = the number of soft cover books.
Each hard cover book costs $2.00 and each soft cover book costs $1.00. Santiago spends a total of $30 on these books. So we can write this equation:
\[ 2h + 1s = 30 \]
This equation shows how much he spent on all the books.
Now, let’s see if it’s possible for Santiago to have bought 10 hard cover books and 5 soft cover books. We’ll plug in \( h = 10 \) and \( s = 5 \) into the equation:
\[ 2(10) + 1(5) = 30 \]
Now let’s do the math on the left side:
\[ 20 + 5 = 25 \]
Since 25 does not equal 30, this means it’s not possible for Santiago to have bought 10 hard cover books and 5 soft cover books. So, that combination doesn’t work.
In summary, for Santiago’s total spending to match $30, the numbers he chose don’t add up right. He would only be spending $25 with that combo, which means 10 hard cover books and 5 soft cover books is not a valid option based on our equation \( 2h + 1s = 30 \).