Discovering the Cost of Notebooks and Pens

What is the cost of 1 notebook, and what is the cost of 1 pen?

John spent $10.50 on 5 notebooks and 6 pens, Ariana spent $8.20 on 4 notebooks and 4 pens.

Answer:

The cost of 1 notebook is $1.50, and the cost of 1 pen is $0.75.

Are you curious about the cost of notebooks and pens? Let's dive into the solution!

To determine the cost of one notebook and one pen, we need to set up a system of equations from the given purchases and then solve for the values of each item.

First, we have John's purchase: $10.50 for 5 notebooks and 6 pens. This gives us the equation 5n + 6p = 10.50, where n represents the cost of one notebook and p represents the cost of one pen.

Secondly, Ariana's purchase was $8.20 for 4 notebooks and 4 pens. This leads to the equation 4n + 4p = 8.20.

By simplifying Ariana's equation to n + p = 2.05, we can now solve the system of equations using the substitution method.

After solving the equations, we find that the cost of one notebook is $1.50 and the cost of one pen is $0.75. Voila!