T = t-shirts & S = shorts

T + T + S + S = $42
T + S + S + S = $45

HOW MUCH IS A PAIR OF SHORTS?
EXPLAIN HOW YOU FOUND THE ANSWER.

2T + 2S = 42

Divide both sides by 2.

T + S = 21

T + 3S = 45

Subtract second equation from the first.

2S = 24

Divide both sides by 2.

S = 12

You should be able to work it from here.

Subtract second equation from the third. (sorry)

Also, please only post your questions once. Repeating posts will not get a quicker response. In addition, it wastes our time looking over reposts that have already been answered in another post. Thank you.

To find the cost of a pair of shorts, we need to solve the given system of equations:

Equation 1: T + T + S + S = $42
Equation 2: T + S + S + S = $45

Let's simplify the equations:

Equation 1: 2T + 2S = $42
Equation 2: T + 3S = $45

Now, we have a system of two equations with two variables (T and S). We can solve this system using the method of substitution or elimination.

Let's solve the system using the method of elimination:

Multiply Equation 1 by 3 and Equation 2 by 2 to make the coefficients of T in both equations the same:

Equation 1: 6T + 6S = $126
Equation 2: 2T + 6S = $90

Now, subtract Equation 2 from Equation 1:

(6T + 6S) - (2T + 6S) = ($126 - $90)

Simplifying the equation:

4T = $36

Divide both sides of the equation by 4:

T = $9

Now that we have found the value of T, we can substitute it back into either of the original equations to find the value of S.

Let's substitute T = $9 into Equation 1:

2T + 2S = $42

2($9) + 2S = $42

18 + 2S = $42

Subtract 18 from both sides of the equation:

2S = $24

Divide both sides of the equation by 2:

S = $12

Therefore, the cost of a pair of shorts is $12.