At the movie theater, you decide to buy some buttered popcorn and a cold soda. You notice that the popcorn costs $2.00 plus half its price and soda costs $1.00 plus half its price. If you buy one bag of popcorn and one soda, what will be the total cost excluding any tax? Be careful, this is more tricky than it looks!
2 + 1 + 1 + 0.5 = $4.50
To solve this problem, we need to set up an equation based on the given information. Let's introduce some variables:
Let's say the cost of the popcorn is P dollars, and the cost of the soda is S dollars.
According to the given information:
The cost of the popcorn is $2.00 plus half its price:
P = $2.00 + 0.5P
The cost of the soda is $1.00 plus half its price:
S = $1.00 + 0.5S
Now, we can solve these equations simultaneously to find the values of P and S.
Let's start with the popcorn equation:
P = $2.00 + 0.5P
Simplifying the equation, we get:
0.5P = $2.00
Dividing both sides of the equation by 0.5, we find:
P = $4.00
Now, let's move on to the soda equation:
S = $1.00 + 0.5S
Simplifying the equation, we get:
0.5S = $1.00
Dividing both sides of the equation by 0.5, we find:
S = $2.00
So, the cost of one bag of popcorn is $4.00 and the cost of one soda is $2.00. To find the total cost of buying one bag of popcorn and one soda, we add these two amounts together:
Total cost = $4.00 + $2.00 = $6.00
Therefore, the total cost of one bag of popcorn and one soda, excluding any tax, is $6.00.