Given:
Total number of flower they buy = 29 stems
Total cost = $120.94
Lilies cost = $3.42 per stem
Peonies cost = $4.78 per stem
To find:
The number of lily stems and peony stems did they buy.
Solution:
Let number of lily stems = x
Number of lily stems and peony stems = y
According to given information,
[tex]x+y=29[/tex] ...(i)
[tex]3.42x+4.78y=120.94[/tex] ...(ii)
From (i) and (ii), we get
[tex]3.42x+4.78(29-x)=120.94[/tex]
[tex]3.42x+138.62-4.78x=120.94[/tex]
[tex]-1.36x=120.94-138.62[/tex]
[tex]-1.36x=-17.68[/tex]
Divide both sides by -1.36.
[tex]x=\dfrac{-17.68}{-1.36}[/tex]
[tex]x=13[/tex]
Put x=13 in (i).
[tex]13+y=29[/tex]
[tex]y=29-13[/tex]
[tex]y=16[/tex]
Therefore, number of lily stems is 13 and number of lily stems and peony stems is 16.
