Write a system of equations to describe the situation below, solve using elimination, and fill in the blanks.A boutique in Winchester specializes in leather goods for men. Last month, the company sold 10 wallets and 35 belts, for a total of $1,450. This month, they sold 77 wallets and 21 belts, for a total of $3,710. How much does the boutique charge for each item?The boutique charges $____ for a wallet, and $____ for a belt.
Q. Write a system of equations to describe the situation below, solve using elimination, and fill in the blanks.A boutique in Winchester specializes in leather goods for men. Last month, the company sold 10 wallets and 35 belts, for a total of $1,450. This month, they sold 77 wallets and 21 belts, for a total of $3,710. How much does the boutique charge for each item?The boutique charges $____ for a wallet, and $____ for a belt.
Equation Setup: Let's denote the price of each wallet as w and the price of each belt as b. The boutique sold 10 wallets and 35 belts for a total of $1,450. This gives us the equation 10w+35b=1450.
System of Equations: In the following month, they sold 77 wallets and 21 belts for a total of $3,710. This gives us the equation 77w+21b=3710.
Variable Elimination: We now have a system of two equations. We need to eliminate one of the variables, w or b. We choose to eliminate b because its coefficients are not multiples of each other, and it will be easier to manipulate the equations to get integer coefficients for b.
Coefficient Adjustment: To eliminate b, we can multiply the first equation by 21 (the coefficient of b in the second equation) and the second equation by 35 (the coefficient of b in the first equation) to get the coefficients of b to be the same. This gives us the new equations 210w+735b=30450 and 2695w+735b=129850.
Variable Solving: We now subtract the first new equation from the second new equation to eliminate b. This gives us 2485w=99400. Solving for w gives us w=248599400, which simplifies to w=40.
Substitution and Final Solution: We substitute w=40 into the first original equation 10w+35b=1450 and solve for b. This gives us 400+35b=1450. Subtracting 400 from both sides gives us 35b=1050, and dividing both sides by 35 gives us b=30.
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