1. ## Algebra word problem

At the neighborhood fruit market, cherries are priced at 2 lbs. for $3.50 and strawberries are priced at 3lbs. for$4.71. Cheryl bought 3lbs of cherries and 4 lbs. of strawberries. If the sales tax is 2%, how much change did Cheryl get from a $20 bill? round to the nearest cent. 2. Originally Posted by chellyluv At the neighborhood fruit market, cherries are priced at 2 lbs. for$3.50 and strawberries are priced at 3lbs. for $4.71. Cheryl bought 3lbs of cherries and 4 lbs. of strawberries. If the sales tax is 2%, how much change did Cheryl get from a$20 bill? round to the nearest cent.
First, find the price of cherries and strawberries per pound.

2 lbs of cherries = $3.50 = 350 cents 1 lb of cherry =$\displaystyle \frac{350}{2} = 175$cents =$1.75

3 lbs of strawberries = $4.71 = 471 cents 1 lb of strawberries =$\displaystyle \frac{471}{3} = 157 $cents =$1.57

So, she buys 3 lbs of cherries and 4 lbs of strawberries to pay:

$\displaystyle (3 \times 1.75) + (4 \times 1.57) = 5.25+ 6.28 = 11.53$

Add a 2% tax to this amount:

$\displaystyle 11.53 + [ \frac{2}{100} \times 11.53 ] = 11.7606$

Note: 2% tax on $11.53 =$\displaystyle \frac{2}{100} \times 11.53 = 0.23$. This is the tax that she pays(23 cents) Rounding off to the nearest cents gives you:$11.76

So she gives a $20 bill means she gets back,$20.00 - $11.76 =$8.24

3. Originally Posted by chellyluv
At the neighborhood fruit market, cherries are priced at 2 lbs. for $3.50 and strawberries are priced at 3lbs. for$4.71. Cheryl bought 3lbs of cherries and 4 lbs. of strawberries. If the sales tax is 2%, how much change did Cheryl get from a $20 bill? round to the nearest cent. Edit: Moving a bit slow these days. Hi chellyluv, This is more of an arithmetic problem, than it is an algebra problem.$\displaystyle C=\frac{3.50}{2}=1.75$per pound$\displaystyle S=\frac{4.71}{3}=1.57$per pound She spent$\displaystyle 3C + 4S = 3(1.75)+4(1/57)=11.53$2% tax on 11.53 =$\displaystyle .02 \times 11.53 = .23$Total spent including tax =$\displaystyle 11.53+.23=11.76\$

You figure the change from a 20 dollar bill.