sam and sue have only nickels and dimes. sue has $.35. sam has the same number of dimes as sue has nickels, and he has half as many nickels as sue has dimes. how many nickels does sue have?
To find the number of nickels Sue has, we need to use the given information about Sam and Sue's number of dimes and nickels.
Let's start by assigning variables to represent the unknowns:
Let's say the number of nickels Sue has is "n."
Since Sam has the same number of dimes as Sue's nickels, we can say that Sam's number of dimes is also "n."
And if Sam has half as many nickels as Sue has dimes, we can say Sam's number of nickels is "n/2."
Now, let's use the information given in the question to form an equation:
Sue's total amount = Sam's total amount
(The value of Sue's nickels multiplied by 5 cents) + (The value of Sue's dimes multiplied by 10 cents) = 35 cents
(n * 5) + (n * 10) = 35
Simplifying the equation, we get:
5n + 10n = 35
15n = 35
n = 35/15
n = 7/3
However, since the question specifically asks for the number of nickels, and we cannot have a fraction of a nickel, this means that Sue cannot have 7/3 nickels.
Therefore, it seems there might be an error in the problem statement as it does not have a valid solution.